Kikou Kyuseishu Gungel
by Herr Gespenst
Summary: The Nova had changed tactics, allowing them to conquer 51% of the world by 2065, including Japan. Humanity had developed new weapons for the counterattack and have succeeded in driving the Nova back to Japan. An attempt to liberate Japan had failed in 2068. Another attempt to liberate Japan begins 2070. Humanity's fate now lies with a unit led by one Ryusei McAllister.
1. Chapter 1

Kikou Kyuuseishu Gungel

(Armored Saviour Gungel)

Chapter 1: Foreword

Late with this, but decided to get this released anyways. As to why I made this fic, well, I felt like it. That, and to provide an in-universe shake-up on the idea of having women do the grunt work in fighting inter-dimensional beings while fighting amongst themselves amidst conspiracies.

As for the title, it's a simple shout-out to a certain anime from the 1980s that had a similar title and reasons for said title. More on that later.

Rating

Given that Freezing is a series full of mature content, even to the point nudity is shown on certain scenes in both the manga and animated version, I'll go for the M rating.

Story/Canon

This is a fanfic sequel, so no, I do not insist this is canon. However, I will obey the canon, and thus taking details from Freezing Zero and Freezing Pair Love Stories.

Characters

I'll more or less include every character, except those introduced in recent manga chapters. I'll end up creating a lot of new ones too.

Technology and Combat

As you know, in Freezing, combat against the Nova is mostly done by women implanted with Stigmata, which allow them to summon weapons. Men after conducting a process called "Baptism" with the women they chose to be their partners can utilize a technique called "Freezing". However, the story eventually had the Nova evolve by way of bringing forth newer forms that are stronger.

Here in this fic, new types of weapons are developed. This is because for the story, the Nova's change in attack patterns involve mass hordes, which contrast heavily from earlier attacks. This led to the return of using projectile weapons that couldn't harm the Nova, but have been upgraded to penetrate them.

This involves the development of mecha, as well as motorcycles that turn into armor for its rider. Also in the story are jet fighters that turn into mecha. The combat will be based on that from Super Dimension Fortress Macross, Super Dimension Century Orguss, Genesis Climber MOSPEADA, Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross, and Megazone 23. Also, I might make references to the Space Battleship Yamato franchise in terms of combat.

Other than that, there's still on-foot combat. This is Freezing after all. It's just that most of the characters I'll create for the fic will be men who can take on Pandora in fair fights. I'll base my fight scenes on various media.

Languages

Based on the setting, where all of the nations of the Earth pooled all resources into combating the Nova, you can correctly assume that English is the main language used. However, the Japanese honorific "senpai" is used by foreigners, especially by non-Japanese characters. I'll just leave usage of non-English terms like it is in the manga.

Final Words

That is all I have to say for now. I hope you enjoy the story.

A/N:

Chapter 1 will come after this.


	2. Chapter 2

Kikou Kyuuseishu Gungel

(Armored Saviour Gungel)

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters in Freezing, nor the initial setting.

* * *

Chapter 2: The Dark Beginning

* * *

It's the Year of Our Lord, 2012. Mysterious beings named _Nova_ appeared and waged war with man for decades. After 53 years, the Nova changed their ways of attack, conquering approximately 51% of the Earth in the process. A discovery in the Sahara Desert in Northern Africa led to the development of new weapons that allowed man to fight back. Despite this, the Nova still hold Japan, where their conquest started. After a failed attempt to take back Japan in 2068, humanity began developing new weapons for another attempt, and after two years, begin another operation to liberate Japan.

* * *

June 6, 2070 (12:50, UTC+09:00)

Sea of Japan

UNCF British Royal Navy Transvaal-class Aircraft Carrier _Laing's Nek_

* * *

The UNCF (United Nations Combined Forces), formed as a result of the insufficient ability of the Chevalier organization to hold back the Nova assault as it had taken 51% of the Earth in 2065, was able to liberate that portion of the Earth the Nova had conquered. Two years ago, it had tried to take back Japan, where the Nova's invasion had started, on July 1, 2068. It ended in failure.

Now, after two years of preparation, the UNCF has initiated another attempt to take back Japan. This time, new weapons have been developed. Now, it depends on humanity's collective fighting spirit to succeed in this endeavor.

* * *

One fleet is ready to launch its attack on the main Japanese island of Kyushu, where one Nova Roost is situated in the city of Miyazaki. There are ten of these Nova Roosts across Japan, with the main one situated in the city of Shinto. Given that the invasion started there, one could say that is the main headquarters of the Nova.

There are four carriers in total. Two from the United Kingdom. The Laing's Nek is one of those British carriers to participate in the attack.

The Laing's Nek is the newly made Transvaal-class aircraft carrier of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy. As Chevalier was formed, Royal Navy vessels were placed under Chevalier command, but as the Nova conquered 51% of the world by 2066, this led to the loss of the Royal Navy ships under Chevalier, including its fleet of the Queen Elizabeth-class supercarriers. With the formation of the UNCF, the Royal Navy was remade, with the Transvaal-class as its first ships.

For the original attempt to liberate Japan in 2068, codenamed "Operation Final Push," only four Transvaal-class carriers were completed. They were the _Transvaal,_ _Bronkhorstspruit,_ _Rustenburg,_ and the _Marabastad._ However, they were destroyed as the invasion failed.

By 2069, four new ships were made. These are the _Lydenburg, Laing's Nek,_ _Schuinshoogte,_ and the _Majuba Hill._

* * *

The ready room for the Laing's Nek is filled. Inside are men and women seated. They're facing an old Caucasian man with white hair and green eyes. Based on that, he appears to be the captain of the ship, with his uniform being that for the Royal Navy.

"We are about to conduct Operation Final Push II," says the old captain. "We now have new weapons to prevent the mistakes from our previous attempt two years ago. However, your skills will really be what is needed for this to succeed. I ask all of you to do your very best in this fight. Don't just think of it as an order, think about the whole world. I wish you well."

The captain salutes the men and women he faces. This is to show he is to count on them to accomplish the attack.

Everyone begins to leave the ready room. Among those are a man and woman in their early twenties.

The man has blue eyes and short, blonde hair. The girl has brown eyes and long, pink hair. Both are in their early twenties, with the woman a year older.

"Ganessa-senpai, wait," says the man as he addresses the woman by her name and the Japanese honorific.

"What is it, Arthur?" says the girl by addressing the man's name.

Rather than instantly answer Ganessa's question, Arthur presents a ring. Ganessa is taken aback by what just happened.

"Ganessa Roland, will you marry me?" asked Arthur.

"… You idiot," Ganessa says. "Why didn't you propose sooner?"

"I couldn't find a good time to do so," Arthur replied. "With a big operation like this, neither of us might survive, so I chose to propose now."

"You big dummy," Ganessa says. "Of course I accept. Let's just make it, okay?"

"Y… Yes!" Arthur replied excitedly.

* * *

After twenty-five minutes, everyone from the ready room had already gotten themselves into their Ride Suits. The Ride Suits were made for the new weapons used in the counterattack against the Nova.

The Ride Suits comprise of a helmet, vest, groin guard, and limb guards. The helmet is for the pilot's head, the vest is for his chest as it ends before the region between the groin and the stomach. The groin guard protects the groins. As for the limb guards, two are for the lower arms, and two are for the lower legs. The groin guard is also attached to the lower leg's limb guards.

As everyone from the ready room gets into their Ride Suits, they get into what they actually pilot, which is the new weapon developed for this very operation. Its name is the VG-02 Stork II.

The VG-02 Stork II is the second "Variable Gear". The Variable Gear is actually a jet fighter, with the Stork II modeled after the ancient McDonnell-Douglas F-4 interceptor and fighter-bomber, albeit with arms and legs like a human being for melee combat.

The limbs were built in response to air units comprising of the original VG-01 Stork taken down by a taller version of the Humanoid-Type Nova encountered in the 12th Nova Clash five years ago. This version is a meter taller and has wings, which was a problem for air units. The Stork had just legs, whereas the Stork II has both arms and legs.

As Arthur gets into his Stork II, it was being prepared by one of the ship's foremen. He is an African with a cap covering his head and dark brown eyes. He primarily wears a shirt and pants colored indigo, with the shirt covered by a yellow vest.

"Your Stork is ready for launch," says the foreman.

"Thanks," replied Arthur.

"You still owe me for the extra repairs I did after Busan."

"Don't worry, I'll pay you back after we take Kyushu."

"All Variable Gears, please launch," says a voice on the Laing's Nek's PA (Public Address) system.

As the foreman gets off the Stork II, Arthur's Stork II is then lifted up into the Laing's Nek's flight deck. Other than Arthur's, all Stork IIs on board the Laing's Nek are on the flight deck and ready to launch.

Arthur's Stork II receives a transmission on its onboard communicator. It's another pilot, who is an Afro-British man with dark brown eyes and short, black hair.

"Crypton, heard you proposed to Roland back in the ready room. You two better make it, because you'll have to have the entire crew attend the wedding."

"Rub it in me, Blake," snarked Arthur.

Immediately afterward, all Stork IIs begin to launch out of the Laing's Nek.

* * *

June 6, 2070 (14:05, UTC+09:00)

Nagasaki, Nagasaki Prefecture and Kumamoto, Kumamoto Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan

* * *

Other than the Stork IIs that had launched from the Laing's Nek, multiple Stork IIs from the other carriers with the Laing's Nek launch their Stork IIs as well. Many would assume that the Nova wouldn't last after this fight due to the UNFC summoning this much aircraft.

At the same time, the landing troops begin to move to Kyushu. They comprise of FC-01 Sky Bus strategic airlifters and _Delaware River-class_ super large landing craft. Both the Sky Bus and the super large landing craft were built to carry Tactical Gears. Both carry various kinds of Tactical Gears.

Tactical Gears are combat vehicles built like legs like human beings. The weapons they're given indicate their role. The ATG-01 Slinger made by American manufacturing firm Crowe Enterprises was built as the main assault vehicle, while Wakefield Industries' WATG-01 Boxer was made for close quarters combat as it has arms like a human being's. The United Kingdom's Barnett Industries made the BTG-01 Tower for a portable CIWS (Close-In Weapons System) platform, and German companies that fled from the Nova's onslaught five years ago made the TA-01 Schleuder, which is a walking artillery piece.

* * *

Arthur then receives another transmission. This time, it's from the field commander of all the Laing's Nek's Variable Gears, a Caucasian man in his mid-thirties with brown hair and blue eyes.

"This is Group Captain Porter. Our objectives are to assist in taking Nagasaki and Kumamoto. They will be our starting point for the invasion proper."

Above Nagasaki and Kumamoto are hordes of flying Humanoid-Type Nova. They appear to outnumber the UNCF air units.

"Incoming Nova," says Porter. "Spray the adhesives!"

All Stork II's fire one missile. As the missile detonates, a special adhesive is spread on the incoming Nova.

This adhesive was made to help kill Nova. When this adhesive is poured on a Nova, it is made easier for projectiles to kill a Nova. Primarily, this allows bullets to penetrate Nova. This adhesive is also flammable, which helps missiles and other explosive weapons kill Nova.

"Now, fire the missiles!"

All Stork IIs fire their Bee multi-purpose missiles. They have built-in commands to track Nova, which allow them to chase down the Nova of their targets until they hit.

The missiles hit a fair number of the flying Humanoid-Types, but this has most of the spread out. The UNCF air units do so in response.

A male pilot takes out a flying Humanoid-Type with his Stork II's nose machine guns, which are also filled the adhesive, easily killing the Nova. However, another flying Humanoid-Type gets on the Stork II, which allows it eat the pilot, killing him and destroying the Variable Gear.

Arthur had just managed to take out five flying Humanoid-Types. A flying Humanoid-Type then gets close to his cockpit, having him use his Stork II's nose machine guns to kill the Nova.

A flying Humanoid-Type emits a ball of pure energy at Porter's Stork II. Porter dodges it and fires a Bee missile at the flying Humanoid-Type, killing it.

* * *

Suddenly, five Nova as tall as ten-story buildings appear. They have what appear to be wings on their sides and faces that look like of a woman's. Below the wings are blades. In their centers appear to be their core. In past Nova Clashes, to stop a Nova was to destroy its core.

Arthur again receives a transmission from Porter.

"We got Type-S Nova appearing. We need them off our backs, especially with the landing force."

"Arthur and I will do it," says Ganessa as she contacts Porter. "We've fought one five years ago."

"Roland, Crypton, good luck," replied Porter. "I'll send some backup if there will be any left."

"Got it," Arthur says.

Both Arthur and Ganessa fly directly at the Type-S Nova. One Type-S detects the two Stork IIs and uses whip-like objects to attack them. However, Arthur and Ganessa dodge the attacks.

Ganessa manages to see the Type-S's core. She then contacts Arthur.

"Arthur, I've got the core," Ganessa says. "Proceeding to fire."

"Same here," Arthur replies.

Both Arthur and Ganessa fire a Bee missile from their respective Stork IIs. Both missiles, launched from a hatch in their respective Stork II's left leg, hit the Type-S's core, destroying it.

* * *

Afterward, two more Type-Ss are seen also being destroyed by Stork IIs.

"This is Blake, me and Campbell we'll assist the landing troops now. Roland, Crypton, can I leave the remaining two Nova to you?"

"Leave it to us," Ganessa replies back.

Both Arthur and Ganessa proceed to take down the last two Type-S Nova standing. However, the two Type-Ss begin to summon energy at their cores.

"Arthur, we have to hurry," Ganessa says as she contacts Arthur. "Those Type-Ss have their Particle Beam Cannons pointed at the fleet."

"I know," replied Arthur. "Right's yours. I'll take the one on the left."

"Got it."

Both Arthur and Ganessa begin aiming for the Type-S Nova they respectively had chosen. At this point, the Type-Ss are aiming at the fleet.

However, another swarm of flying Humanoid-Types surrounds Arthur and Ganessa. Both manage to kill half of them with their respective Stork II's nose machine guns and arms but run out of ammunition for both the machine guns and don't have enough missiles left.

"I'm out," Arthur says.

The two Type-Ss fire their Particle Beam Cannons.

"Oh no! NO!"

The Particle Beam Cannons hit the fleet. The Laing's Nek is the first one they hit.

As Arthur is distracted by the Type-Ss destroying the fleet, a flying Humanoid-Type then slices off his Stork II's left wing. Arthur sees Ganessa still in the air surrounded by flying Humanoid-Types as his Variable Gear falls from the sky.

"GANESSA-SENPAI!"

All Arthur could do in the cockpit is wait for his Stork II to crash. Other than that, he hopes Ganessa survives.

* * *

June 6, 2070 (18:00, UTC+09:00)

Kumamoto Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan

* * *

Hours had passed. Arthur then comes about.

"Where am-"

As Arthur wakes up, he feels pain. Expected as such for someone who had managed to survive a crash landing.

"I best go outside and patch myself up."

Arthur finds his Stork II's first aid kit. He then opens up the cockpit and grabs his sidearm, which is an FN Five-SeveN semi-automatic pistol. Afterward, he goes outside. As he does, he briefly collapses to the ground but gets up.

* * *

Thirty minutes had just passed. Arthur had just finished applying first aid on himself. He hadn't moved since then because he needed to recuperate.

"I think I should be fine to stand up now," Arthur says. "I have to check if Ganessa-senpai or anyone else in my unit is fine."

Arthur then stands up and attempts to use his Stork II's communicator. He then tunes in to the UNCF's frequencies.

"This is Apple 2, calling for any survivors. I repeat, calling for survivors. Please respond."

Arthur then hits the communicator as he hears no response. To him, he thinks all of his comrades are dead.

 _Not a single response,_ Arthur says in his mind. _Not even from Ganessa-senpai. I hope she made it, but that's too much to hope for._

Suddenly, Arthur hears loud footsteps.

 _Those must be Nova._

Two Crab Type-TR Nova appear. They have the body of a crab, hence its name, but the head, chest, and upper arms of a human female. The rest of the body appear to be controlled by the upper arms.

The Type-TR is the new form of Nova responsible for conquering almost half of Earth in 2065. The "TR" means "Trooper". What made them harder to kill until the development of new weapons was that the core was hidden well under heavily armored bodies and utilized the Accel Turn ability.

The Accel Turn is one of three High End Skills. This allows an increase in speed.

High End Skills were developed during the 8th Nova Clash of 2061. Since then, Pandora units had used them. However, the Nova have begun to do so as well, as the first Humanoid-Types during the 12th Nova Clash in 2065 had begun to use Accel Turn as well. Likewise with the Crab Type-TR Novas, which helped in the Nova conquering almost half of the world.

Arthur takes aim with his Five-SeveN. He knows one semi-automatic pistol wouldn't be enough to take them down, but feels that there would be no point in either fighting to live or let them kill him without a fight.

 _So this is how I die?_ Arthur has in his mind. _About to die pathetically. And I just proposed to Ganessa-senpai hours ago. If she's dead, maybe I join her in Heaven and have our wedding there. That wouldn't be so bad, wouldn't it?_

Suddenly, one Crab is destroyed by what appears to be a missile. Both Arthur and the other Crab turn to the direction as to where it came from and found the one who shot the missile.

 _Is… Is that someone in a Tactical Suit?_

The person who saved Arthur is in a Tactical Suit colored blue. Tactical Suits were the first weapons developed to counter the Nova's advance across the Earth.

On August 2, 2065, an archeological discovery was made in the internationally disputed Western Sahara region in northeastern Africa. It was an alien vessel. The person who theorized that it was an alien vessel was a scientist from the United States named Sandra Burton. It was there that the weapons needed to fight back against the Nova were discovered. The weapons made as a result of the discoveries were the Tactical Suit, Tactical Gears, and the Variable Gears. The ship was given the designation "Relic-01," but on December 5, 2066, the ship disappeared.

The Tactical Suit has two modes named Ride Mode and Suit Mode. Ride Mode is the original motorcycle form, whereas Suit Mode is the suit. When in Suit Mode, the rider can use Jump Boosts, rockets built into the Tactical Suit, to make quick evasions. The first one built is the TS-01 Guncycle by the American manufacturing firm Cranston Enterprises, which appears to be used by the person who had just saved Arthur, albeit with a missile launcher that the Guncycle doesn't really have.

The other Crab then charges at the Tactical Suit user. The Tactical Suit user jumps to his right with his Jump Boosts and takes aim with the Guncycle's sight, which allows the user to aim at the target. The user then launches another missile, killing the other Crab.

As Arthur watches, two other Nova appear. They look more like human females. Those would be the Pandora-Type Nova.

They are the Pandora-Type Nova that also first appeared in the 12th Nova Clash. Their namesake was that of the term "Pandora", which was designated for the female warriors that originally fought the Nova per the usage of Nova tissues that were given the name "Stigmata". Stigmata allowed them to summon weapons. However, Stigmata had their drawbacks, and with the new tactics utilized by the Nova, recruiting women to be Pandora was phased out.

Arthur then attempts to use his Five-SeveN, but both Pandora-Types evade Arthur's shots. They then appear behind Arthur.

The Tactical Suit rider suddenly summons an iaito. He then appears to instantly appear to save Arthur from the two Pandora-Types. He slices one's head off with his iaito.

In the midst of this, Arthur falls into the ground on his buttocks, shocked by everything that is happening around him. To him, he had never seen a human who could fight evenly with Pandora-Type Nova.

 _Am I dreaming?_ Arthur asks in his mind with disbelief. _Did that guy just slice a Pandora-Type's head off?_

The Tactical Suit rider then moves without looking like the rider moved at all. The rider appears again after a second, and immediately after that, the Pandora-Type is sliced in half starting from its body's right side.

The rider then turns back to Ride Mode. The rider turns out to be a male as the helmet is removed. He is a Caucasoid man with black hair, and one right eye colored hazel as his left eye is covered by an eye patch, a beard, and a metal prosthetic for his right hand.

 _The way he moved, it seems familiar,_ Arthur has in his mind. _Not only that, it feels like I know this man._

"Thanks for saving me," says Arthur. "May I please what is your name?"

"Ryusei McAllister, New Eden Air Security Forces."

* * *

Twenty-five minutes later, Ryusei and Arthur had just set up a campfire. The former had just removed his Ride Suit.

What Ryusei actually wears is a white shirt underneath a green jacket with New Eden's insignia, a circle with wings attached to and the initials "NE" inside the circle, on its back, blue pants, and brown boots.

"Why would pirates be interested in this war?" Arthur asks. "I thought you were out collecting refugees if in case the Nova won out, in which you would fly up into space and restart mankind there?"

"That's our last resort," replied Ryusei. "However, we won't do so without a fight. We will end this war our own way because of Chevalier."

"Ah, I see, you think Chevalier might abuse the war to their own purposes."

"Definitely. We can't act against them yet. Remember what Gengo Aoi did five years ago?"

"I can see your point there. He had been conducting his own projects without insight from Chevalier's Grand Canyon headquarters. Because of that, West Genetics and all of Japan fell to the Nova."

"I've been ordered to help survivors of today's attack they're to be rallied to New Eden."

"Good plan," says Arthur. "However, I don't wish to go with you."

"Are you out o you mind?" Ryusei asks. "You can't just fight the Nova by yourself. Even UNCF High Command agreed to help us."

"I know that. It's just that there's someone I need to help at the moment."

"Who?"

"Ganessa Roland."

 _You haven't changed at all, Arthur,_ says Ryusei in his mind.

"Is she a friend of yours?" asked Ryusei.

"More than that, she's the woman I love the most," Arthur replied.

 _Just like me,_ Ryusei says in his mind.

"You see, Ganessa-senpai and I met five years ago. She was a Pandora, and I chose her to be my partner, therefore I was a Limiter. We managed to escape West Genetics as I fell to the Nova. Then they put a halt to recruiting women into being Pandoras and men to be Limiters. Because of that, me Ganessa-senpai and I became average teenagers again and finished high school. However, we heard of new weapons being made to combat the Nova, and both of us felt it would be a disservice to those that died in West Genetics if we didn't continue fighting the Nova, so we became Variable Gear pilots."

"I see," says Ryusei in agreement.

"By the way, I saw how you killed those Pandora-Types," said Arthur. "How did you do that? Only a Pandora could do such a thing, and you're a man."  
"It's a long story, and I feel I should turn in tonight," says Ryusei. "I'll discuss it maybe tomorrow, maybe after we've rescued Miss Roland."

"Really?" excitedly asked Arthur. "You're going to help me find Ganessa-senpai?"

"Why not?" Ryusei rhetorically asks. "It won't change my mission one bit."

"Thank you so much."

"Sure. Please get some sleep. We have to find her tomorrow."  
"Agreed."

Arthur then gets to sleep. Meanwhile, Ryusei puts out their campfire and prepares to sleep as well.

 _That's right, we have to help her out whenever we can,_ Ryusei has in his mind. _Just as I have to save the one I love._

* * *

June 7, 2070 (08:00, UTC+09:00)

Kumamoto Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan

* * *

Both Arthur and Ryusei get up. After they have packed up their belongings, they prepare to head out and find Ganessa. Ryusei has his Guncycle ready and at Ride Mode, which is 2450 millimeters in length. Before he starts up his Guncycle, he has his iaito magically disappear. Arthur looks on with curiosity.

"How did you do that?" asked Arthur.

"Again, I'll explain everything after we've saved your girlfriend," answered Ryusei.

"Sure. If I may, there's something I need to get before we leave."

"Crypton, we can't carry everything. We have to go now."

"Please wait a minute, I'm getting my own Guncycle."

"I see, but please hurry."

Arthur then accesses a certain hatch in his crashed Stork II. What he gets appears to be a metallic box with two rubber wheels paired closely together.

As Arthur brings this metallic box to the ground, he finds a knob to use. After using the knob, the metallic box turns out to be the Guncycle he is looking for, with its color being red.

"Is that your Guncycle?" Ryusei asks.

"It is," Arthur replied. "Shall we get going?"

"Of course. Just one more thing to get."

"Please hurry it up."

Arthur then goes through his Stork II to look for one last thing he intends to take with him. He manages to find the actual weapon of the Guncycle, the PAR-01 assault rifle.

PAR is an acronym for "Pulse Assault Rifle." The actual purpose of the Tactical Suit is to be a support system for the PAR-01 because of its weight. Despite its name, the PAR-01 appears to be more of a light machine gun as it carries one hundred rounds and comes with a built-in M203 grenade launcher. Neither features would be good for the average infantryman as they add weight. Despite this, the PAR-01 has been very useful in the counterattack against the Nova.

Both Ryusei and Arthur get their Guncycle's started. Below the front mirror of the Guncycle is the monitor containing the tachometer, odometer, and the fuel gauge. All three are depicted as vertical meters, with the arrangement being bottom to top.

The fuel source for the Tactical Suits is Infinium. Infinium is the newest element discovered by Dr. Sandra Burton. It provides an unlimited amount of energy for a long period of time. The only limit is purity. Infinium exposed to dirt and other foreign substances still provide unlimited energy, but at a short period of time. Pure Infinium has no such problem. Discovering Infinium stockpiles has now become the new gold rush.

"How much Infinium do you have?" Ryusei asks.

"I got two extra cans," replied.

"Good," Ryusei says. "We're going."

"Got it."

Both Arthur and Ryusei leave the crash site to begin looking for Ganessa.

* * *

Translations

Schleuder (German) – "catapult"

Ryusei (Japanese) – kanji for "shooting star"

* * *

A/N:

This chapter is based on Genesis Climber MOSPEADA's first episode, with a marriage proposal done before the mission and the invasion force between wiped out.

The Transvaal-class aircraft carriers are named after every battle in the First Boer War that lasted from 1880 until 1881. Transvaal refers to a region that is now part of modern-day South Africa.

The Stork II is based on the Bronco II from Super Dimension Century Orguss. The only difference is that the Stork II has more human-esque arms. The original Stork would be a proper Bronco II analog.

The Tactical Gears are based on the following:

1\. ATG-01 Slinger – M4 Medium Tank + MBR-04-Mk. VI Destroid Tomahawk from Super Dimension Fortress Macross

2\. WATG-01 Boxer – M8 Armored Car + MBR-07-Mk. VII Destroid Spartan from Super Dimension Fortress Macross

3\. BTG-01 Tower – ADR-04-Mk. X Destroid Defender from Super Dimension Fortress Macross)

4\. TA-01 Schleuder – HWR-00-Mk. II Destroid Monster from Super Dimension Fortress Macross)

Arthur using "Apple" is a reference to the radiotelephony alphabet used by the British Royal Air Force in the Second World War, with Apple as a substitute for the letter A.

The TS-01 Guncycle is based on the VR-052 MOSPEADA (Mobile Operation Soldier Protection Aviation Emergency Dive Armor) from Genesis Climber MOSPEADA. Ryusei's Guncycle is based on the VR-052F MOSPEADA, whereas Arthur's is based on the VR-052T MOSPEADA.

The Guncycle's length would make it based on the MTT (Marine Turbo Technologies) Y2K Turbine Superbike.

The Crab Type-TR Nova is based on the Grab Inbit from Genesis Climber MOSPEADA. The flying Humanoid-Type Nova serve the same role as the Eager Inbit from MOSPEADA.

The PAR-01 assault rifle is based on the M41A Pulse Rifle from the Alien franchise. The only similarities are the hundred-round magazine and the built-in grenade launcher. The main difference is the design. For the PAR-01, the magazine is more visible than in the M41A's and the usage of the same retractable stock used in carbine variants of the real-life M16 assault rifle, with the real-life M4 Carbine as one example.

Please stay tuned for the next chapter.


	3. Chapter 3

Kikou Kyuuseishu Gungel

(Armored Saviour Gungel)

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters in Freezing, nor the initial setting.

* * *

Chapter 3: The Darkness Comes

* * *

June 7, 2070 (13:00, UTC+09:00)

Kumamoto Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan

* * *

Both Ryusei McAllister and Arthur Crypton have been wandering around Kyushu's Kumamoto Prefecture looking for Ganessa Roland. Both stop their respective TS-01 Guncycles as they appear to have spotted something.

"I think I see something," Ryusei says. "Crypton, do you have binoculars?"

"I do," replied Arthur. "I'll take a look."

Arthur goes through his possessions to look for a pair of binoculars. As he finds them, he begins looking at the object he and Ryusei had spotted.

In his binoculars, Arthur appears to have found a crashed VG-02 Stork II. It's right vertical stabilizer appears to have the number 8.

"We did it," Arthur says.

"What is it, Crypton?" asked Ryusei.

"We've found Ganessa-senpai's Stork! I'll go on ahead."

Arthur then has his Guncycle move again towards the wrecked Stork II.

"Hey, wait up!"

Ryusei has his Guncycle move as well to follow Arthur.

* * *

As he makes it to the crashed Stork II, Arthur gets off his Guncycle and begins to investigate. He finds that the cockpit of the Stork II is empty, as is the hatch for where a Tactical Suit is stored in.

"You found any trace of her?" asked Ryusei as he too makes it to the crash site.

"She's definitely alive," Arthur excitedly says. "I even found tracks."

"You did?"

"Yes. Follow me."

* * *

Arthur shows Ryusei motorcycle tracks. The latter takes a look at them.

"You know how to track?" asked Arthur.

"I was trained to track," replied Ryusei.

Ryusei then brings forth his right hand, which is now a metallic hand. He openly aims his metallic right palm toward the tracks. As he does, a rush of energy converges across the area. This rush of energy takes the form of hexagons connected together.

 _It can't be,_ Arthur has in his mind. _This is Freezing!_ _W_ _as he a Limiter?_

In the 7th Nova Clash of 2053, Limiters were first used in battle against the Nova. They were men who could utilize the technique called "Freezing." This was an ability utilized by the Nova. For Limiters to utilize Freezing, a connection must be made by the Pandoras they are partnered with. This connection is called the "Ereinbar Set".

An Ereinbar Set can only be established between a Pandora and a Limiter through a ritual known as "Baptism". Another condition for establishing an Ereinbar Set is that the Limiter must be younger than the Pandora he is paired with.

Ryusei then closes his hand again, indicating he is finished. He then stands up.

"I've just figured out where to go next."

"Where?"

"A nearby village," answered Ryusei. "I'm not sure if Miss Roland is there, but we will begin looking for her from there."

"Are you sure we'll find Ganessa-senpai there?"

"Just get into your Guncycle. We best act fast before the Nova find us."

"Agreed."

Both Ryusei and Arthur get back to their Guncycles. After starting them up, they proceed to go to the village Ryusei had found, with him leading the way.

Unbeknownst to Ryusei and Arthur, they were being watched by a Crab Type-TR Nova.

* * *

As Arthur and Ryusei keep on following Ganessa's trail, they see a caravan of three trucks. Both Arthur and Ryusei stop to

"Think they know where this village is?" asked Arthur.

"I'd prefer not to ask them," replied Ryusei. "They would feel like the types who refuse to cooperate."

"We won't know until we try," says Arthur just as he starts up his Guncycle and moves again.

"Wait!" shouted Ryusei as he does the same to follow Arthur.

Arthur then gets in the way of the caravan. The frontmost truck stops, as do the other two trucks behind it.

The frontmost truck has three people in the front seats. They comprise of one man in his forties with black hair and hazel eyes, a woman close to his age with brown hair and hazel eyes, and a pre-teen girl with black hair and hazel eyes. The man then opens his door.

"You're soldiers right?" asked the man.

"We are," replied Arthur. "We've been looking for a village. Would you please give us directions?"

The man is surprised that two soldiers would be looking for a village. He begins acting like he knows nothing, yet he does.

"You know, don't you?"

"There's no village nearby. Please go back."

The man then starts up his truck. He intends to force Arthur to get out of the caravan's way, with Arthur figuring it out and getting out of the caravan's way.

"We just came from a village," says a male child in the rear of the third truck who doesn't know why his elders are refusing to help Arthur and Ryusei. "Just go the way we ca-"

The child's mouth is then covered by his mother as the caravan leaves Arthur and Ryusei.

"We're going to that village," says Arthur.

"Fair enough," says Ryusei. "I feel that caravan was hiding something. It's worth investigating. Maybe Miss Roland made it there."

Both Ryusei and Arthur proceed to the way the caravan had come from.

* * *

June 7, 2070 (14:10, UTC+09:00)

Itsuki, Kuma District, Kumamoto Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan

* * *

Both Arthur and Ryusei make it to a village named Itsuki. It is a village surrounded by mountains. A dam was to be made for the village, but it had been put on hold. No attempts to resume work began due to the war with the Nova, especially after the Japanese government fled in the midst of the Nova's invasion.

The village is a meeting place for three rivers. They are the Itsuki River, O River, and the Kawabe River.

As the two proceed further, they are stopped by two men with guns.

"You're soldiers, aren't you?" asked one man.

"We are," replied Ryusei. "May we please speak to someone in charge?"

"What's all this about?"

An elderly man appears. He has white hair and hazel eyes. It appears he is the village leader Ryusei and Arthur are looking for.

"I assume you're in charge?" asked Ryusei.

"I am," replied the village leader. "I'm the mayor, Osamu Nanakawa."

"I see. May we be allowed inside your village?"

"We can't let soldiers like you two inside the village. The Nova will attack us if we do."

"We don't wish to do so," replied Ryusei. "We just need food and information on other soldiers that may have gone by here."

"Very well," says Nanakawa. "You may proceed inside. However, you have three hours to do as you please, then leave."

"Got it," says Arthur.

Both Arthur and Ryusei proceed inside the village. Unbeknownst to them, the same Crab that was watching them followed them to the outskirts of the village.

* * *

Both Ryusei and Arthur are getting themselves feed in a rest stop in the middle of Itsuki. Nanakawa is in the same table as they are.

"I heard this attempt to liberate us failed," says Nanakawa.

"Figured as such," replied Ryusei. "I did some reconnaissance a few months ago."

"Reconnaissance?"

"I have some ways to getting inside Japan without detection by the Nova."

Both Ryusei and Arthur finish their meals. They proceed to stand up.

"Now then, may we please know if there were any other soldiers who passed here?" asked Arthur.

"Sure," says Nanakawa. "There were soldiers that stopped by here for a meal. We had them hide in Komuriuta Park."

"Wait, I thought you said you don't let soldiers stay the night?" asked Ryusei, suspecting something.

"We don't," replied Nanakawa. "There were wounded amongst them, so we made an exception there."

"I see," says Ryusei. "We'll go there then."

"I'll have someone take you there," says Nanakawa.

Nanakawa then calls for a man with a white shirt, black pants, and brown leather shoes. He whispers something to the man, with Ryusei observing with further suspicion.

After listening to Nanakawa, the man then faces Ryusei and Arthur.

"Please follow me, you two," says the man as he leaves the rest stop, with Ryusei and Arthur following.

Unbeknownst to them, someone observes from a ridge overlooking the village. Observing is a female soldier whose Ride Suit is modified in the chest for her breasts, and her Tactical Suit being a BTS01 Vagabond, whose Ride Suit length is 2060 millimeters and colored red, like Arthur's Guncycle.

* * *

June 7, 2070 (15:33, UTC+09:00)

Itsuki, Kuma District, Kumamoto Prefucture, Kyushu, Japan

Komuriuta Park

* * *

The three men arrive at Komuriuta Park in the Mizonokuchi neighborhood, with Ryusei and Arthur in their Ride Suits and Guncycles. The park is now used as a junkyard.

"You would hide wounded soldiers here?" asked Arthur.

 _Arthur's right,_ Ryusei has in his mind. _On top of that, a_ _wide open park_ _? Th_ _at's going to draw the Nova's attention._

"You only have an hour and thirty minutes to search around," says the man. "Once time's up, you will have to leave by then."

"Got it," replied Ryusei.

The man then leaves Ryusei and Arthur. The latter two begin looking around.

"Is anyone there?" Arthur loudly asks. "Hello?"

"Calm yourself down," says Ryusei.

Both Ryusei and Arthur suddenly find wrecked vehicles. What shocks them is that there are corpses of UNCF soldiers amongst the wreckage.

Suddenly, four flying Humanoid-Type Nova spot Ryusei and Arthur. They appear out of the river and begin to attack the two soldiers.

"We've been detected!" shouts Arthur.

As one flying Humanoid-Type fires an energy ball at the two soldiers, Ryusei and Arthur dodge.

"How did they find us here?"

"I think I do," says Ryusei.

"What do you mean?"

Another flying Humanoid-Type fires an energy ball at Ryusei, but he evades. He then gets closer to Arthur.

"The villagers," answered Ryusei.

"Why would they do such a thing?" asked Arthur.

"Because we're soldiers. The dead soldiers around us may have been because the villagers pretended to help them out by having them hide here. Instead, the Nova find them easily and kill them."

"This isn't right! It can't-"

As Arthur is hysterical over civilians selling out UNCF soldiers to the Nova, he is slapped by Ryusei.

"Pull yourself together! Right now, we just need to fight back."

"Got it."

"Now get into Suit Mode."

"Roger that."

Both Ryusei and Arthur separate after the former uses a spray that fills the air with the special adhesive needed for solid projectiles to hit Nova. Immediately, they have their Guncycles jump and switch to Suit Mode.

* * *

Both Ryusei and Arthur chose to fight two flying Humanoid-Types each. Ryusei fires two missiles at the two Humanoid-Types he is fighting. The two missiles hit one instead. The surviving Humanoid-Type fires an energy ball, but Ryusei dodges it by using his Guncycle's Jump Boosters.

Unlike Ryusei, Arthur is having a harder time fending off the flying Humanoid-Types. Because he is using a PAR-01, the Humanoid-Types evade his shots. They both fire energy-balls at Arthur, who dodges them and hides amongst the wreckage.

Suddenly, the Vagabond rider appears and switches to Suit Mode. Her weapon is that of a VBR01. VBR is an acronym for "Vagabond Battle Rifle". It has the same type of barrel as the Lee-Enfield rifle used by the armed forces of the British Empire during the early 20th Century.

It is configured to be a bullpup weapon. Bullpup configurations have the magazine between the buttstock and the trigger of a firearm. The buttstock is modeled after the SA80 assault rifle. Currently, the rider is using a rifle grenade.

The VBR01 uses two types of rounds. It normally uses 20 7.62x51mm rounds. The magazine containing these rounds is based on the FN FAL battle rifle, which had a variant made in the United Kingdom named the L1A1 Self-Loading Rifle. For a higher penetration ability, the VBR01 uses a rifle grenade.

Prior to the invention of the grenade launcher, a rifle had an attachment for firing grenades. A blank round is used to launch the explosive projectile. This is referred to as a rifle grenade.

The VBR01's rifle grenade comprises of five blank rounds in a smaller magazine. The rifle grenade round is actually a small rocket-propelled grenade. The firing mechanism is that when the blank is fired, the rifle grenade is launched. The rifle grenade uses a soft launch method, where the rifle grenade's rocket motor is ignited away from the VBR01. This boosts the speed of the rifle grenade, giving it a better chance of hitting its target.

The Vagabond rider kills one of the flying Humanoid-Types trying to kill Arthur. Arthur manages to kill the other one.

Arthur turns his attention to the Vagabond rider who saved him.

"Thanks for saving me," says Arthur. "You're from which carrier? Laing's Nek or the-"

Suddenly, the Vagabond rider opens her helmet's visor. Her face is that someone Arthur knows dearly.

"Ga… Ganessa-senpai, you're safe!"

"Glad I saved you, Arthur," says Ganessa. "Anyways, where's your new friend?"

"Right, we have to help him."

Suddenly, both Arthur and Ganessa hear the sound of a flying Humanoid-Type's energy balls hitting the ground. They turn their attention to Ryusei evading the last flying Humanoid-Type.

* * *

Ryusei's only reason for evading the flying Humanoid-Type was that he has only one missile left. To him, he can't keep evading the Humanoid-Type.

 _I can't keep this up forever,_ Ryusei has in his mind.

 _Remember, think what is beyond what you can feel._

Ryusei had just remembered words that he had listened to. It was just what he needed.

He then summons his iaito again and stays on the ground. He prepares his left hand in using his iaito and has his feet firmly on the ground.

"What's he doing?" asked Ganessa.

"I don't know either," answered Arthur. "That man saved my life, yet he still killed two Pandora-Types with just that sword."

"What!?" loudly asked Ganessa. "How could a man do such a feat?"

"Don't ask me. I just met this guy yesterday."

The flying Humanoid-Type continues charging from the air towards Ryusei. Suddenly, the same flow of energy that engulfed Ryusei the previous evening engulfs him again.

 _This feeling,_ Ganessa has in her mind. _It's Freezing! Is this guy a Limiter?_

As the Humanoid-Type gets closer, Ryusei opens his eyes.

In an instant, a faint sound of a cut in the wind is heard.

* * *

Both Arthur and Ganessa are in shock over how it just ended in that instant.

Ryusei is in the air, having quickly drawn his iaito out from its scabbard as an attack. A splash of water appears in a small gap between Ryusei and the Humanoid-Type.

Ryusei then lands into the ground. As for the Humanoid-Type, it's head ceases to exist, with the rest of the body falling to the ground.

After he stands up, Ryusei has his iaito vanish again and reverts his Guncycle back to Ride Mode. He then sees Arthur with Ganessa.

"Miss Roland I presume?" asked Ryusei.

"Yes," replied Ganessa. "And you are?"

"Ryusei McAllister. New Eden Air Security Forces Alpha Flight."

"You're with New Eden? I heard the Hokkaido landings succeeded because of you."

 _So the others did it?_ Ryusei has in his mind. _That's good to know._

"A pleasure to meet you, but there's someone I need to talk to."

Ryusei then begins to leave Komuriuta Park ahead of Arthur and Ganessa. The latter two are still confused as to who Ryusei really is and how he could fight like a Pandora even though he is a man.

Another person watches from afar. That person appears to be focused on Ryusei.

* * *

June 7, 2070 (16:02, UTC+09:00)

Itsuki, Kuma District, Kumamoto Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan

Itsuki Village Office

* * *

The mayor of Itsuki Village, Osamu Nanakawa, had just bought himself six bottles of beer locally made in Japan. He comes back to his office, with his office's lights turned off.

Nanakawa presses the switch to his office's lights. However, there appears to be someone waiting for him that he doesn't notice. As he proceeds further, he realizes too late that his office has been infiltrated, with Ryusei McAllister as the infiltrator.

"Ah, Mr. McAllister, you found your comrades yet?" Nanakawa asks without shame, yet full of fear that the Nova didn't kill Ryusei.

"Yes," replied Ryusei. "Only one, and _she_ wasn't in the village."

"Wait, I can explain," says Nanakawa. "Can I at least put my beer on my desk first?"

"Fine," Ryusei replied. "You have ten seconds."

"S… Sure," Nanakawa replied with fear.

Right then and there, Nanakawa quickly puts his beer on the desk. At this point, Ryusei's patience is none existent.

* * *

As Arthur and Ganessa return from Komuriuta Park, they see almost every inhabitant of the village gathering somewhere.

"Think we should follow them?" asked Arthur.

"I guess," replied Ganessa. "Maybe Ryusei might be the reason for this."

"At this point, I don't blame him," replied Arthur as he and Ganessa follow the villagers. "I still can't believe these villagers would do this to us."

"After how the Nova conquered the country, I don't blame the villagers," Ganessa says.

Arthur and Ganessa follow the villagers to the village office. In the middle of the street is Nanakawa and two of the armed villagers beaten up by Ryusei. Two other villagers are also ready to fire their guns, but can't do so.

"Please, no more," says Nanakawa in mercy with a black eye on the right side of his face. "Look, think about the villagers. We didn't mean too, we're just afraid of the Nova."

"Fine," says Ryusei with a tired tone. "I'm leaving this village."

He then finds his Guncycle, which he parked near where Arthur and Ganessa are. After starting it up, he leaves first, with the villagers turning their attention to him, Arthur, and Ganessa.

"I'm out of here too," says Arthur. "I hope you sleep well after this."

Arthur then turns to Ryusei's direction and follows him.

"You people make me sick," Ganessa says.

Ganessa then joins Ryusei and Arthur in leaving Itsuki.

* * *

Outside Itsuki, Ganessa catches up to Arthur and Ryusei.

"What are we going to do now?" asked Ganessa.

"We continue to look for your surviving comrades," answered Ryusei. "That's my mission."

"You're taking this mission seriously?" asked Arthur. "You do that, and you'll die."

"I'm going to see that doesn't happen," says Ryusei. "One way or another, this war has to end."

* * *

Outside Itsuki, the same person watching Ryusei closely, a girl is boarding a truck that just happened to avoid Itsuki.

"Where to, little girl?" asked the driver.

"Where they're going," answered the girl.

The driver sees Ryusei, Arthur, and Ganessa, referring to the girl pointing at them.

"I'm going there too."

"Thanks."

The truck then leaves for where Ryusei, Arthur, andGanessa are going.

* * *

Translations

Osamu (Japanese) – "reign"

Nanakawa (Japanese) – "Seven Rivers"

* * *

A/N:

The whole chapter is a reference to Genesis Climber MOSPEADA episode 2: March of a Girl with a Broken Heart, right down to the village selling out soldiers to alien invaders to save their own skins and being scolded by the protagonists for it.

The BTS01 Vagabond is based on the VR-038L Bartley from Genesis Climber MOSPEADA. The real-life model for the Vagabond is the Triumph TT 600 sports motorcycle.


	4. Chapter 4

Kikou Kyuuseishu Gungel

(Armored Saviour Gungel)

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters in Freezing, nor the initial setting.

* * *

Chapter 4: All In

* * *

June 14, 2070 (09:40, UTC+09:00)

Kumamoto Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan

* * *

A week had passed since Ryusei McAllister, Arthur Crypton, and Ganessa Roland had left Itsuki. Since then, the Nova had been pursuing them. The three had spent the week hiding from them and had been succeeding in doing so due to disabling their Infinium-powered vehicles.

The three hide near the Kyushu Expressway. The Kyushu Expressway starts from Kitakyushu in the Fukuoka Prefecture until the west of Kagoshima in the prefecture of the same name. The Kyushu Expressway also provides a bridge to the main island of Honshu, and had the UNCF successfully liberated Kyushu, the main island would have served as one starting point for liberating Honshu.

They had hidden their Tactical Suits in bushes, while they themselves have removed their Ride Suits. Ganessa is on the lookout, with Arthur behind her.

"Ganessa-senpai, any Nova around?" asked Arthur.

Ganessa looks on, even after Arthur asked. What she just sees is nothing but more trees and a road full of wrecked vehicles.

"I think we're fine," replied Ganessa. "Not a single Nova around."

"That's a relief. I think it's safe for us to resume our journey."

"Agreed. Where's Ryusei?"

"He felt like meditating. That guy, he doesn't seem fazed by us hiding from the Nova for one week."

"Not only that, there's his fighting abilities. It's like he isn't human."

"I know, he may be a Limiter, but with ho-"

"Wait, Arthur, please say that again."

"He may be a Limiter."

"That could be it, given that he did Freezing."

"So he's a Limiter? But his Freezing is nothing like what I could do. I mean, he fights like you do. No, he might even win in a fight against you. Remember what he did to that Humanoid-Type a week ago?"

"I know. It also feels like I've met him before."

"I had that feeling too."

* * *

Elsewhere in that same forest, Ryusei, also out of his Ride Suit, meditates. He sits on his lower legs, with his arms firmly grabbing his knees.

 _I will rescue you for sure,_ Ryusei has in his mind. _Please wait for me._

"Ryusei, where are you?"

Shouting for Ryusei is Arthur. The latter had just interrupted the former as he was attempting to look at a picture.

Arthur then finds Ryusei.

"There you are," says Arthur. "Ganessa-senpai said the coast is clear. We can resume moving."

"That's good," Ryusei says as he stands up. Suddenly, his stomach growls.

"I heard that," says Arthur.

"I know," replied Ryusei. "We have to go to a town for food."

"Won't the civilians just sell us out to the Nova?"

"They won't. I have an idea."

"What?"

"We'll just have to wear anything that doesn't have any military markings."

"Got it. I'll tell Ganessa-senpai."

* * *

Thirties minutes later, all three have changed into different clothes. For Ryusei, he just gets rid of his New Eden jacket. As for Arthur and Ganessa, they wear their West Genetics uniforms.

Arthur's is the standard for men. His consists of a white buttoned shirt, black tie, and black pants. Ganessa's, which is for females, consists of a white blouse with short, puffed sleeves, a collar that expands to the neck bone and the upper spine that is tied by a lace and is connected to a maroon short skirt hitting the knees with white laces.

Both Arthur and Ganessa wear brown leather boots that end one meter before the knees. This made sense in combat.

"You two ready?" asked Ryusei on his Guncycle.

"We are," replied both Arthur and Ganessa.

"Good. We're leaving now for Hitoyoshi."

All three start up their Guncycles. After that, they take the Kyushu Expressway.

* * *

June 14, 2070 (09:40, UTC+09:00)

Yamae, Kuma District, Kumamoto Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan

Yamae Toll Road Rest Stop

* * *

Ryusei, Arthur, and Ganessa continue on across the Kyushu Expressway. They begin to pass by the village of Yamae.

Yamae is one village in the Kuma District of Kumamoto Prefecture. Along with the nearby village of Sagara, one can see the two villages as extensions of the city of Hitoyoshi, which is also in the same prefecture.

What also makes it easy to see Yamae and Sagara as part of Hitoyoshi despite being separate towns is that during the original Operation Final Push two years ago, the three towns were a major battlefield. Hitoyoshi sustained major damage in the fighting, as did Yamae and Sagara. To those left in either town as most of their respective populations left, it hardly matters if all three towns are separate.

The three then come by the Yamae Toll Road Rest Stop. The place was where one can find lodgings other than paying to go further. Despite the war, the place still accepts paying customers.

Realizing where they are, Ryusei, Arthur, and Ganessa stop their Tactical Suits. They also hear a woman singing.

"I think this place has food," says Arthur. "Not only that, I want to know who's singing."

"Arthur!" shouted Ganessa in a fit of jealousy.

"We're going in then," says Ryusei. "You two better behave yourselves."

"Right," says both Arthur and Ganessa.

All three get off their Tactical Suits and proceed inside.

* * *

Inside the rest stop, all the patrons watch the singer. She has hazel eyes and long, brown hair. What she is wearing is a cocktail dress and slip-on shoes oh colored gray.

Ryusei then walks up to the proprietor. The proprietor is a man with no hair and hazel eyes.

"Think you can please get us something to eat?" asked Ryusei. "We have money."

"Sure," replied the proprietor.

The proprietor notices Arthur and Ganessa in their West Genetics uniforms. However, he refuses to comment further.

"Who is she?" asked Arthur as he refers to the singer.

"You don't know?"

"Sorry."

"Her name is Shoko Midorikawa. She had made a name for herself in a week as she debuted in a bar in Hiroshima and had been wandering since then.

After ten minutes, Ryusei, Arthur, and Ganessa finish their meal. At the same time, Shoko finishes her song.

"Thank you, everyone," says Shoko in the midst of cheers and claps.

Arthur, Ganessa, and Ryusei turn their attention to her.

"She's pre-" Arthur says before getting his right ear pinched by Ganessa.

 _That girl, she must be hiding something,_ Ryusei has in his mind.

Suddenly, the sound of guns being used is heard outside. Everyone begins to see what is going on.

"Whatever that is, it might be trouble," says Ganessa.

"Might be a soldier about to get lynched," says Arthur. "We best help him."

"Agreed," replied Ryusei.

* * *

Everyone in the rest stop, including Ryusei, Arthur, Ganessa, and Shoko. What they see are two people driving a truck being chased by three men armed with various guns on motorcycles.

One motorcyclist, appearing to be the leader, has brown hair, is wearing sunglasses, and is armed with an AKS-74U carbine. One other motorcyclist, a man with long, black hair, a white shirt under a black jacket, and black pants, has an M4 carbine. Another motorcyclist, who has light brown hair and is wearing a blue baseball cap, a white shirt, and black pants, is armed with a Saiga 12 shotgun.

The two men in the truck consist of one who is of African descent with a more than well-built physique, short brown hair, light brown eyes, and wearing a shirt and a pair of pants that are colored green. His friend, a Caucasoid, has short black hair, hazel eyes, and wears a blue shirt under an orange vest and orange pants.

Their truck runs into wreckage and tips over. The two men attempt to flee but the motorcyclists catch up to them.

The motorcyclist with the cap grabs the black-haired man. The brown-haired man kneels on the ground.

"Bruce!" shouts the man who has just been captured. "Help me!"

As the motorcyclist who grabbed the friend of the one named "Bruce", the other two motorcyclists continuing pursuing the man. Suddenly, a rocket is fired onto wreckage, and while the motorcyclist with the sunglasses evades, the motorcyclist in black falls off his vehicle but survives.

* * *

The one having helped the man named Bruce is Ryusei, with the latter borrowing Ganessa's VBR01 in the midst of everyone from the rest stop.

"You there," shouts the motorcyclist with sunglasses. "Keep out of this!"

"Move any further and I will fire another one," says Ryusei.

The two motorcyclists hesitate on what to do next. They begin to turn away. The motorcyclist with the sunglasses rears his head.

"Bruce, if you want to save your friend, meet us at Yamaesonritsumae, or he's dead."

The motorcyclists leave.

"Well, aren't you going to save your friend?" asked Ryusei.

"P… Please leave me alone," says the man named Bruce while attempting to leave.

Suddenly, Shoko gets in the man's way and punches him.

"You're a coward if you're going to leave your friend to his fate," says Shoko. "As for me, I'm going, but first, I need to get my ride."

Shoko begins to leave.

"Count us in," Ryusei, Arthur, and Ganessa say in unison.

"You're all fools," says the proprietor of the rest stop. "Those men have a bazooka."

"Someone has to do something," replied Ryusei after getting into his Ride Suit and starting up his Guncycle.

The man looks on with guilt.

 _These people are willing to do this,_ the man has in his mind.

"I… I'm coming too," says Bruce. "This is my fight."

"Good," says Ryusei. "You can ride with me."

Ryusei, Arthur, Ganessa, and the man, on board Ryusei's Guncycle, are prepared to leave.

"Yamaesonritsumae is just ahead," says the proprietor as he gives directions. "I studied there when I was a child."

"Thanks."

"Wait," says Shoko as she returns in a Guncycle that are colored white. "Please let me assist."

"Where did you get that?" asked the proprietor.

"From a dead soldier," says Shoko.

 _No mistaking it,_ says Ryusei in his mind. _There's something suspicious about that woman. She punched really hard for a woman._

"Shall we get going then?" asked Ganessa.

"Of course," replied Shoko.

Ryusei, Arthur, Ganessa, and Shoko then get their Tactical Suits moving. The same girl pursuing Ryusei watches.

* * *

June 14, 2070 (09:40, UTC+09:00)

Yamae, Kuma District, Kumamoto Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan

Yamaesonritsumae Elementary School

* * *

Yamaesonritsumae Elementary School is an elementary school located in the western end of Yamae. Nearby is the Kuma Rive and beyond that is the Terugaku mountain, which is already by the western edge of town. The school had been abandoned since the first attempt to liberate Japan in 2068.

Ryusei, Arthur, Ganessa, the man named "Bruce", and Shoko arrive. Waiting for them are the motorcyclists, with the man with the cap armed with an RPG-16 rocket-propelled grenade launcher.

"You have guts coming here for a coward," says the motorcyclist with sunglasses. "It's about time you 'allies' know who you really are."

"Shut up!" shouted the man. "Just let my friend go."

"Your real name is Bruce Sykes," says the motorcyclist with sunglasses. "You were with the UNCF forces two years ago and deserted as everything went south."

The man fully named Bruce Sykes is irritated at what the motorcyclists had said. Ryusei and the others are shocked.

"Rather than hand you over to the Nova, we'll just kill you now. Same goes for your 'allies' because they're-"

The motorcyclist with sunglasses is interrupted as three Crab Type-TR Nova attack him and his men. The motorcyclists leave their weapons and hide inside the abandoned school.

Ryusei, Arthur, and Ganessa have their respective Tactical Suits in Suit Mode. As Bruce gets off Ryusei's Guncycle, Shoko appears.

"Get in," says Shoko. "We're saving your friend."

* * *

Ryusei, Arthur, and Ganessa have a hard time fending off the Crabs even after having used the adhesive. Ryusei attempts to fire a missile at one of them, but it evades with an Accel Turn.

Ganessa evades two energy balls being fired from another Crab. She then jumps and uses her VBR01's rifle grenade, but the Crab evades with Accel Turn.

 _Damn it,_ Ganessa has in her mind. _I can't believe these Nova have Accel too._

 _Unlike back in Itsuki, fighting Nova in an open area while in Tactical Suits is a bad idea,_ Ryusei has in his mind. _I'll have to call in my Variable Gear._

Ryusei then accesses a communicator found in his right arm guard. He switches to the frequency 100.50.

"Hikoboshi, are you there?" asked Ryusei.

"Master Ka- I mean, Master Ryusei, it's you," replied a robotic voice that might be the "Hikoboshi" Ryusei is referring to. "I see that you might need the Gungel. Very well, I'm on my way with it."

"Than-" Ryusei attempts to say, but sees a Crab about to attack him and dodges.

Watching are Bruce, his friend, and Shoko.

"I'm surprised you did all of this for me," says Bruce's friend.

"I've decided I'm going to resume fighting the Nova," says Bruce. "If those kids can do it, so can I."

"By the way, why are you here?" Bruce's friend says as he faces Shoko. "Are you a soldier too?"

"You could say that," answered Shoko.

Suddenly, a rush of wind is felt by the three as something fast passes by them.

* * *

Appearing is a blue-colored Variable Gear with New Eden's insignia as it shows its legs. It appears to be based on the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle air superiority fighter. The legs then revert back to being the engines, allowing the Variable Gear to return to the air.

"Is that a Variable Gear?" asked Arthur.

Ryusei then has his Guncycle revert back to Ride Mode. He then jumps, disappears for two seconds, then appears again on top of the Variable Gear.

 _That ability just now, it's an Illusion Turn,_ Ganessa has in her mind. _How could a man do such a feat as well?_

The Illusion Turn is another High End Skill. In truth, it is the origin of the actual High End Skills, with one of them being Accel Turn. Illusion Turn allows its user to disappear for a few seconds, then appear again in a different location. In fiction, this ability is referred to as "teleportation".

Ryusei then gets into his Variable Gear's cockpit. Behind his chair is what appears to be a robotic dog.

"Master Ryusei, I'm also detecting three more Nova coming in from the air."

"Flying Humanoid-Types. We wrap this up fast."

Ryusei then begins to engage the Crabs, who turn their attention away from Arthur and Ganessa.

"Hikoboshi, is it ready?" asked Ryusei to the robotic dog that is named Hikoboshi.

"If you mean the Stigmata Jammer, it is," says Hikoboshi. "However, I see that you have recruited allies that have Stigmata too. Are you sure about this?"

"It'll be fine. I'll warn Arthur and Ganessa-senpai first."

Ryusei then uses his Variable Gear's communicator. He contacts Arthur.

"Ryusei, mind telling me what that Variable Gear of yours is?" asked Arthur.

"Not now, I'll explain later," replied Ryusei. "Can you and Miss Roland please punch each other?"

"Why?" asked Arthur.

"I'll explain that later. Please do as I say?"

"Fine."

* * *

Back on the surface, Arthur faces Ganessa.

"What did he say?" asked Ganessa.

"We have to punch each other first," answered Arthur.

"What?"

"I know, but we have trust Ryusei on this."

 _Trust? So says the man who has to tell us all about his superhuman feats,_ Arthur has in his mind.

Both Arthur andGanessa then punch each other in the face and fall unconscious into the ground.

* * *

Back on the Variable Gear, Hikoboshi picks up Arthur and Ganessa's vitals or lack of as the two had punched each other.

"Master Ryusei, Miss Roland and Mister Crypton had knocked each other unconscious," Hikoboshi says to Ryusei.

"Good," said Ryusei. "Hikoboshi, activate the Jammer now."

"Roger that."

A loud and dangerous sound comes out of Hikoboshi. On the surface, the three Crabs are unable to continue firing.

Observing are Shoko and Bruce, who notice the Nova unable to fight.

"That sound must affect the Nova," says Shoko.

Bruce then grabs the RPG-16 left behind by the motorcyclists and opens fire, destroying one Crab.

Back in the air, Ryusei then fires two missiles; one from a panel in each arm. Each missile hits the other two Crabs remaining.

"Master Ryusei, I've detected those flying Humanoid-Types," says Hikoboshi.

"Got it," says Ryusei.

Three flying Humanoid-Type Nova arrive. They detect Ryusei's Variable Gear and open fire. Ryusei evades them. He then sprays the adhesive, with the adhesive touching the Humanoid-Types.

Ryusei then has his Variable Gear bring out its legs. The legs then fire missiles. Although the missiles don't hit the other two Humanoid-Types, one is destroyed.

One flying Humanoid-Type fires an energy ball at Ryusei, but he evades. He then uses another weapon of his Variable Gear, which is a rifle that has two "fins" at the bottom and top of the end meant for the shoulder and a helical-fed magazine similar to the Russian PP-19 submachine gun.

Ryusei then fires the fire, destroying the flying Humanoid-Type.

* * *

Both Arthur and Ganessa wake up after knocking each other unconscious.

"Ganessa-senpai, are you alright?" asked Arthur. "Sorry about that."

"Never that," says Ganessa. "Look!"

She points to Ryusei evading the last flying Humanoid-Type. She refers to the Variable Gear changing to a more human-esque form.

"The Stork II doesn't have that mode!" shouts Arthur. "How did New Eden make such a Variable Gear?"

"I recall hearing a rumor that there was an attempt to make such a Variable Gear, but the only prototype was stolen by terrorists," said Ganessa.

The Variable Gear was made with two forms in mind. One is the standard fighter mode, named "Gear Fighter", and the other with arms and legs for close-quarters, named "Gear Soldier". An American manufacturing company named Graham Industries was making a Variable Gear with a Gear Soldier mode that had a human-esque appearance, while the original appearance for Gear Soldier mode would be renamed "Gear Diver".

However, the prototype, the GXVG-01, was stolen by terrorists. A Variable Gear similar to the GXVG-01 appeared in Japan on August 10, 2068, assisting in rescuing survivors of the failed Operation Final Push.

* * *

Ryusei and his Variable Gear evade another attack from the flying Humanoid-Type.

"I'd rather not waste any more ammunition and missiles," said Ryusei. "I'm resorting to close-quarters combat."

Ryusei then has his Variable Gear hides its rifle. He readies its hands and charges at the flying Humanoid-Type. He uses his Variable Gear's right arm, striking one blow to the Humanoid-Type's chest.

He then flies above it, and switches back to Gear Diver mode, using the legs to strike another blow at the head. Lastly, he then reverts the Variable Gear back to Gear Fighter mode, striking the last blow with the Variable Gear's nose, killing the Humanoid-Type.

Inside his Variable Gear's cockpit, Ryusei receives a transmission from his communicator.

Tania Cronje is one of New Eden's bridge operators. She is a twenty-year-old woman with long blonde hair, blue eyes, and her service uniform consists of a blouse and skirt colored periwinkle.

"Ryusei, it's Tania," says a woman's voice. "You've been ordered to head to Kirishima. Our reconnaissance team made contact with a Japanese Home Army cell in Kirishima that have taken in UNCF soldiers. Please rendezvous with them, along with any other survivors you have picked up. New Eden will then evacuate the city."

"And when is New Eden coming?"

"In a week," says Tania. "We're still assisting the UNCF troops in Hokkaido drive off the Nova there."

"Understood."

* * *

Ryusei then lands his Variable Gear. He then gets off the Variable Gear, with Arthur and Ganessa running to him.

"You flew awfully well," says Ganessa.

"Thanks," says Ryusei.

"What is that Variable Gear?" asked Arthur.

"It's the Gungel. It's made by New Eden."

"Gungel?" asked Ganessa.

"It's a combination of _gun_ and _angel_ ," answered Ryusei.

"Look, forgive me for asking this rudely, but will you please tell us everything about yourself?" asked Arthur.

"I will," says Ryusei. "After we leave now for Kirishima."

"Kirishima?" asked Ganessa.

"Some of my comrades from New Eden made contact with a Japanese Home Army cell there who've taken in UNCF soldiers. New Eden itself will be coming to pick them up in a week. If we leave now, we can make the time."

* * *

Suddenly, Bruce and Shoko appear.

"You two?" asked Arthur.

"May we be allowed to come with you?" asked Bruce.

"Are you sure?" asked Ryusei.

"I'm done hiding. I've been inspired by your bravery to do so."

"I see. Now, will you please tell us who you really are?"

Bruce then stands firmly and salutes.

"Corporal Bruce Sykes. Forty years old. 19th Airlift Wing, Air Mobility Command, United States Air Force. I can repair your equipment."

"And you?" asked Ryusei as he faces Shoko.

"Hang on," says Shoko. "Please let me get out of this appearance."

Shoko then gets behind her Guncycle. She slowly removes her "breasts", which are actually paddings, then "her" dress. "She" also removes "her" make-up, puts on a pair of blue pants, and reveals "herself" to be a man.

"Y- You're a man!" shouts Arthur.

"I am. My name is Shinji Midorikawa. Free Japanese Army."

* * *

June 13, 2070 (19:45, Unknown Time Zone)

Unknown Location

In a darkened room in an unspecified location, a man engulfed in shadows sits over a desk. He is drinking a glass of wine.

A sound is heard on what appears to be a communicator. The shadowed figure receives it.

"Master, did I interrupt you?" asked a masked figure with a deep, but feminine voice.

"Not at all," replied the man. "What news do you bring?"

" _He_ has resurfaced."

"I see. Please keep me updated."

"I will."

Both cease contact. The man then looks to what appears to be a block of ice.

"It seems _he's_ ready to save you. This should be interesting."

* * *

Translations

Shinji (Japanese) – kanji for "true" and "heir".

Midorikawa (Japanese) – kanji for "green" and "river"

* * *

A/N:

The whole premise to this chapter is Genesis Climber MOSPEADA episode 3: Showdown Concert at High Noon, right down to the lynching only being done by a group of heavily armed motorcyclists and two men joining, especially with one of them being a crossdresser.

The Gungel, whose designation is the NEVG-01, is based on the Legioss from Genesis Climber MOSPEADA. The designation is based on "VF-1," the designation of the Valkyrie Variable Fighter from The Super Dimension Fortress Macross and the Legioss' designation of "AFC-01". Likewise with the Gungel's rifle being based on the Valkyrie's GU-11 55mm Gunpod.

Tune in for the next chapter, because there's one more surprise before going for the straight reveal. Just be patient.


	5. Chapter 5

Kikou Kyuuseishu Gungel

(Armored Saviour Gungel)

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters in Freezing, nor the initial setting.

* * *

Chapter 5: Reunion

June 15, 2070 (12:50, UTC+09:00)

Isa, Kagoshima Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan

* * *

Isa is a city in the Kagoshima Prefecture. This city is a merger of the city of Okuchi and the town of Hishikari. In the middle of the city, the Sendai River and the Hatsuki River meet.

The band of anti-Nova resistance fighters comprising of Ryusei McAllister, Arthur Crypton, Ganessa Roland, Bruce Sykes, and Shinji Midorikawa are heading to the city because the city hosts a stash of Infinium tanks and that their vehicles, which comprise of Ryusei's NEVG-01 Gungel Variable Gear, the TS-01 Guncycle Tactical Gears driven by Arthur and Shinji, Ganessa's BTS-01 Vagabond, and Bruce's HMMHV (High Mobility Multipurpose Hover Vehicle).

The HMMHV, given the nickname "Humheeve", is a light utility vehicle. It resembles the ancient HMMWV (High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle), which was nicknamed "Humvee". The only difference is that it can hover one meter above the ground, which makes it useful in traversing mountainous areas.

Arthur then contacts Ryusei through the latter's communicator in the Gungel.

"Ryusei, how long until we stop?" asked Arthur. "Our vehicles' Infinium time limits are almost up."

"Hang on," says Ryusei. "We're almost near Manegahira. We'll stop over there and plan how to get more pure Infinium."

"Got it," replied Arthur as he breaks contact with Ryusei.

"Master Ryusei, we're about to approach Manegahira," says Hikoboshi.

"Got it," says Ryusei. "Now we'll stop."

Ryusei then sees Manegahira and has his Gungel proceed ahead.

"I guess this means we can stop for now," says Ganessa.

Everyone else follows Ryusei.

* * *

June 15, 2070 (13:50, UTC+09:00)

Isa, Kagoshima Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan

Manegahira

* * *

Manegahira is a mountain located in Isa's Okuchikinouji neighborhood. As they were arriving in Isa, Ryusei had chosen the area around the mountain as a place to rest before attempting to steal pure Infinium.

The five had already parked their vehicles and began to rest before planning on raiding Isa. After having their meal, all five are looking at a map of the city, with their location represented as a red dot beside Manegahira.

"I've already done some reconnaissance in advance before meeting all of you," says Ryusei. "During that time, I managed to find out where Isa's Infinium stash is located in."

"And where would that be?" asked Ganessa.

"Right here," Ryusei points to the middle of the city on the map. "Specifically, the police station."

"Going in there is suicide!" exclaimed Arthur.

"I know. I have a plan on that."

"You do?" asked Bruce.

"Yes," replied Ryusei. "It involves our singer friend."

"Me?" asked Shinji.

"That's right, Shinji," says Ryusei. "We need you to arrive as Shoko and perform a concert. I will pretend to be your manager."

"I don't mind this plan but where will I perform?"

"That will be up to the mayor. Wherever the concert is, the whole city will be too busy. The police will be more focused on your safety that there will be a few men in the station. I will need some people to raid the police station to steal the Infinium. Any volunteers?"

"I'll go," says Arthur.

"Same here," says Ganessa."

"Good," replied Ryusei. "Hikoboshi here will notify us on what the city authorities will do."

"You mean the talking robot dog?" asked Ganessa.

"I am no mere talking robot dog," says Hikoboshi. "I have every language, even unwritten ones, programmed into me and I can access the internet from another continent."

"Whatever," says Ganessa. "When do we get to stealing this Infinium?"

"Tomorrow," answered Ryusei. "Shinji and I will have to go to the city and arrange a concert with the mayor."

"Alright, I'll leave it to you two."

"Shinji, please get into character," asked Ryusei as he faces Shinji.

"Got it," says Shinji. "Please give me fifteen minutes."

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, Ryusei had gotten to his disguise, which consists of him wearing a fake eye over his eyepatch, gloves on both of his hands to maintain consistency with his disguise and hide his right metal hand, a white buttoned shirt underneath a beige blazer, beige pants, and brown leather shoes.

"Seriously, that's your disguise?" asked Ganessa.

"Better than nothing," says Ryusei.

"In any case, is _she_ done yet?"

"I'm not su-"

"Here I am!"

Everyone turns to see Shinji as Shoko. "Her" attire is the same dress she wore back in Yamae.

"Shall we kick this off then?"

"R… Right," says Arthur.

Ganessa looks at Arthur with anger. No one but Bruce, who is behind her, notices and is in fear.

"Well then, we're off," says Ryusei. "We'll be hitching a ride to the city. Make sure a single Nova patrol doesn't find you."

Both Ryusei and Shinji as Shoko leave Arthur, Ganessa, and Bruce.

Unbeknownst to the five, someone lurks in the trees behind them.

* * *

June 15, 2070 (14:38, UTC+09:00)

Isa, Kagoshima Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan

Isa City Hall, Mayor's Office

* * *

In his office at Isa City Hall, the mayor, a bespectacled man with no hair, hazel eyes, a gray mustache, and wearing a white buttoned shirt underneath a gray suit, hears his buzzer ring.

"Yes, what is it?" asked the mayor as he answers his buzzer.

"Mr. Mayor, we have a 'Shoko Midorikawa' and her manager asking if they can see you," answered a female voice.

"Shoko Midorikawa!?" exclaimed the mayor. "Of course let them in."

After almost a minute, Ryusei and Shinji in their disguises come inside.

"Miss Midorikawa, I'm so glad for coming to the city," says the mayor. "You here for one night?"

"I am," replied Shinji. "Of course I'd predict you would want me to perform in this city."

"Of course, though I wouldn't push on the matter," says the mayor.

"Thank you, Mr. Mayor," says Ryusei. "My client here wouldn't mind performing anywhere, though we do need a venue to perform."

"Understood. I'll have the Memorial Park prepared for a concert."

"I see," says Ryusei. "What about security?"

"Leave that to the police here. Of course, I'll need some men at the station to protect our Infinium stash. If it were stolen, the Nova will get us."

"I see."

"In any case, please give us the rest of the day to prepare the stage. I'll have someone take you to somewhere where you can rest for the evening. How long will you be staying?"

"Just for tonight. We'll be leaving after the concert."

"I see. Please head outside then. You will be taken to your accommodations right now."

"Thank you," says both Ryusei and Shinji as they bow down their heads in gratitude and leave the office.

* * *

June 15, 2070 (15:44, UTC+09:00)

Isa, Kagoshima Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan

* * *

Thirty-six minutes later, Ryusei and Shinji arrive in an inn in the city. They begin unpacking, which reveals that they have packed nothing.

However, Ryusei then releases two disc-shaped objects. He then gives one the Shinji.

"What's this?" asked Shinji.

"It will help us get back to Mr. Crypton and the others," says Ryusei. "Just put it on the ground and press the button there."

"Okay."

Both Ryusei and Shinji then place the objects on the floor. They crouch and press the buttons, revealing that the devices release holograms of themselves.

"Nice device," says Shinji.

"Thank New Eden," says Ryusei. "We now have to head back to the others."

"Got it," says Shinji. "How?"

"I have an idea," replied Ryusei. "You're going to have to cooperate with me on this."

"Okay, whatever you say," says Shinji.

"First, grab my hand," says Ryusei as he brings out his right arm.

"Sure," says Shinji.

Shinji then grabs Ryusei's right metal hand. The former sees the latter closing his eyes.

"What are you doing?"

"Last step. Please close your eyes."

"Okay."

Shinji then closes his eyes.

 _Arthur is right,_ Shinji has in his mind. _This man is hiding too many secrets._

Shinji then opens his eyes to find that he and Ryusei are no longer in Isa.

"Ryusei where are we?" asked Shinji.

"We're nearby our hiding spot," answered Ryusei. "We have to get back to the others."

Ryusei then proceeds ahead of Shinji. The latter then follows.

 _Fine to hide things about yourself,_ said Shinji in his mind. _I do too, but the way you're doing is too suspicious._

* * *

June 15, 2070 (15:58, UTC+09:00)

Isa, Kagoshima Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan

Manegahira

* * *

Ryusei and Shinji make it back to their hiding spot. However, they are shocked as to what has happened.

They see Arthur, Ganessa, and Bruce tied and gagged. Hikoboshi is currently gagged and being tied by metal chains by a girl with blue eyes, long blue hair tied in a large ponytail, and a mark on her left facial cheek.

What she is wearing is a black leather vest covered by a green jacket, black leather pants, and brown leather shoes.

"It's been a long time, Kazuya-kun!"

Ryusei is then horrified by the name the girl had just called him.

"Ryusei, who is this girl and why did she call you that name?" asked Shinji. "You are hiding something from us, aren't you?"

"You're right," says Ryusei. "However, I can't tell you yet. I will tell all of you the truth after this but right after I take care of her."

"Fine," says Shinji. "I'll untie Arthur and the others."

Shinji then proceeds to untie Arthur, Ganessa, Bruce, and Hikoboshi. Ryusei then summons the same energy he had summoned in past fights and a dome, or rather, an illusion in the form of a dome, is formed around himself and the girl.

Shinji had just removed Arthur's gag and untied him.

"Thanks for saving us," says Arthur.

"No problem," says Shinji. "We have to untie Ganessa and the others first."

* * *

In the illusionary dome made by Ryusei, both he and the girl summon their weapons. The former summons his iaito, while the latter brings up a switchblade based on the Italian Stiletto knives.

"Why are you even here, Rana Linchen?" asked Ryusei.

"I came to see you, Kazuya-kun," answered the girl named Rana. "Besides, it is my mission."

"Fine. Let's just get this over with."

"Good enough with me. Other than Satella-san, you're the only one that can keep up with me in a fight."

Both Ryusei and Rana get to their stances. The former has his iaito on his right hand; the latter has her left arm straightened and her right arm bent, with her switchblade also straightened.

Both circle each other. They intend to see who will be the first one to strike first.

 _I best watch for Rana's knife attacks,_ Ryusei has in his mind. _She didn't start out with knives but she should have gotten better since we last met back in Honolulu._

 _I could strike first but Kazuya-kun would still have the advantage,_ Rana has in her mind. _His swordfighting style allows one to strike when the other does. I should try something._

Rana then strikes first without even trying to get close to Ryusei. She softly swings left with her right arm, then swings right. Afterwards, she then spins to the right and slashes downwards. Lastly, she spins again in the reverse and does a large horizontal slash.

 _I knew she wou-_ Ryusei has in his mind but is interrupted by Rana doing a spinning kick.

* * *

Outside the illusionary dome, Arthur and the others watch.

"I didn't know that Tibetan monkey knew how to use knives," says Ganessa.

"How exactly do those two know each other?" asked Shinji.

"Do you know who Gengo Aoi is?" asked Arthur.

"The man who started the Pandora Project forty-eight years ago?" asked Bruce.

"That's right," answered Arthur. "The one who has been with us is definitely his grandson, Kazuya Aoi."

"What?" asked Bruce and Shinji.

"Master Arthur is correct," says Hikoboshi. " _Ryusei McAllister_ is an alias Master Kazuya uses."

"Why would he hide his true identity?" asked Bruce.

"Master Kazuya forbids me to tell you," replied Hikoboshi. "He will do so after he's done with this fight. Please be patient. However, I can let Master Arthur tell you how he first met Satellizer el Bridget."

"Who?" asked Bruce.

"A Pandora who became known as the 'Untouchable Ice Queen' for her harsh fighting ability," answered Ganessa. "I once fought her back in West Genetics five years ago and won because Kazuya Aoi interrupted our fight by slamming himself into her breasts."

"He did that?" asked Shinji.

"It was the talk of the school," replied Arthur. "I met him afterward in relation to what happened. He surprisingly managed to have her less aggressive over time."

"Alright, then what about that girl that just attacked us?" asked Bruce.

"Her name's Rana Linchen," answered Arthur. "We first met her five years ago as well. She ended up butting heads with Satellizer over Kazuya."

 _This Kazuya Aoi is quite the man to have two women fawn over him like that,_ Shinji says in his mind.

"Now then, why did he go into hiding?" asked Bruce. "Not only that, what happened to el Bridget."

"It was assumed both are MIA (Missing in Action)," replied Arthur. "The talking robot dog would know why Kazuya goes with a fake name."

"Again, I have a name!" shouted Hikoboshi. "Also, that will be enough. The rest of the story will be told by Master Kazuya after this fight. Please be patient."

"He'd better explain how he can do an Illusion Turn!" says Ganessa.

* * *

Back inside the illusionary dome, Rana's switchblade clashes with Ryusei's iaito. The two push each other back.

Rana then grips her switchblade with both of her hands and attempts to thrust it into Ryusei. The latter dodges by shifting to the right. Rana then does a spinning kick with her right leg, which Ryusei hides under. She then does another spinning kick with her left leg but Ryusei hides underneath it too. Rana then does a downward slash, which Ryusei evades by shifting to his left. Lastly, Rana attempts to do one punch with her left fist but Ryusei surprises her by dropping his iaito as he uses his right leg, which mysteriously turns into stone.

"How could he do that?" asked Ganessa outside the illusionary dome. "Not even the strongest Pandora could turn their own body parts into stone."

 _Not again!_ Rana has in her mind when she has her left arm grabbed by Ryusei.

It's clear Ryusei had just parried Rana's punch. He then spins himself and hits Rana with his left shoulder, which had just turned into metal.

"Even he turned his left shoulder into metal!" exclaimed Ganessa.

"So, you want to go at it with just fisticuffs?" asked Rana as she gets up.

"That's better," answered Ryusei. "On your feet."

Rana then throws away her switchblade and summons what appears to be metal gauntlets above her hands and metal boots on her feet.

Her stance has her right arm straightened and her left hand raised and clenched into a fist. Her left arm is pushed down, bent, and her right hand clenched into a fist as well. Her legs are slightly bent, with her right leg is in the same position as her right arm while her left leg is pointed away from her left arm.

Ryusei's stance his left arm bent upwards and its hand clenched into a fist, his right arm mostly facing down but his metal hand slightly pointing upwards and clenched into a fist, and his legs in the same position as Rana's.

"Shall we?" asked Rana.

"Of course," replied Ryusei.

Rana starts first by moving and twisting her right leg but Ryusei evades. Noticing what happened, Rana turns and stretches her left leg as a kick towards Ryusei, slightly hitting him.

Rana attempts a punch with her right fist but Ryusei evades that attack as well. He then slightly jumps and does a spinning kick himself on Rana with his right leg pointing up first. It slightly hits her but the actual hit comes in the form of Ryusei using his left leg next while he doesn't face Rana. She is propelled backwards as a result.

Rana counters by crouching and doing a sweep kick with her right leg at Ryusei's right leg. She then resumes standing and advances but Ryusei hits her again with his left leg.

Ryusei then attempts his spinning kick followed by a left leg kick but Rana begins to raise her right fist and as Ryusei gets close, she rises into the air with her entire right arm raised and her fist still clenched while spinning. She then lands as Ryusei is hit.

Ryusei quickly advances but Rana stops by jumping towards Ryusei and doing a spinning kick with her left leg in the process. She then lands and raises her entire right leg to kick Ryusei again.

Rana then steps her right leg firmly into the ground, pushes her right arm with its hand clenched firmly into a fist, and after three seconds releases her fist as if she is punching Ryusei without being close to her.

Ryusei gets up and feels an incoming shockwave. It's clear that the shockwave had just come from Rana's direction.

 _That must be her Kuuga,_ Ryusei has in her mind. _It's time I ended this fight._

Ryusei begins moving his left leg and his arms. He then stomps his left leg on the ground, has his left arm facing the ground, and straightens his right arm while opening its palm. A ball of fire comes in front of Ryusei's right palm and towards the shockwave.

 _It's Kazuya-kun's Suzaku Enshou,_ Rana has in her mind.

As the shockwave comes towards Ryusei, the ball of fire proceeds towards it and both the fireball and the shockwave are evaporated.

"It seems you've improved, Kazuya-kun," Rana says as she sees Ryusei having stepped his left leg firmly into the ground, his right leg bent towards the ground, pushed his left arm back and bent it, and has his right arm straightened and its metal palm open.

"Did you see that?" Arthur asks as he watches outside the illusionary dome faces and everyone else. "He just made an actual fireball!"

Ryusei resumes his normal stance. Rana does so in kind.

"We really are equally matched," said Rana. "It's about time we end this."

"Agreed."

Suddenly, large bursts of energy are concentrated by both Ryusei and Rana. Even everyone else outside the illusionary dome feels this.

"What is this!?" Arthur asks as he looks away from the fight. "It doesn't feel good."

"I know," says Ganessa.

A ball of energy converges in front of Rana. She widens the gap between her legs and has her feet placed firmly on the ground. Her arms are bent downwards, with her hands clenched into fists.

Around Ryusei, energy is formed as lightning. He now stands normally, while his arms are spread to their respective directions.

"This can't be real," says Arthur outside the illusionary dome. "How could Kazuya do such powerful fighting techniques?  
Both Rana and Ryusei begin to release all the energy they have summoned.

"TENHAGA!" Rana shouts as she stomps the ground with her right foot and her arms are now straightened, with her fists opened into palms.

"Ouryu Raiha!" shouted Ryusei at the same time as he has both of his hands facing Rana, with the lighting now taking the form of dragons and directly charge at the wave of energy coming from the latter.

Suddenly, the illusionary dome begins to crack, with everyone outside being pushed away. At the same time, it has now become an endurance match, where both Ryusei and Rana struggle to remain standing.

 _I have to win this!_ shouts Ryusei in his mind.

 _Kazuya-kun has gotten much stronger,_ says Rana in her mind. _I can't let him win._

The energy Rana and Ryusei propelled against each other intensifies. The latter gathers the will to continue by propelling the lightning further, allowing it to overwhelm Rana's energy. This leads to an explosion.

* * *

A minute later, Arthur, Ganessa, Shinji, Bruce, and Hikoboshi come about and find that the fight had ended but left behind plenty of smoke.

Suddenly, two people are shown as the smoke fades away. It appears both Rana and Ryusei have survived but barely able to stand. After two seconds, both start collapsing into the ground but manage to get close to each other despite laying down.

"You know… you've gotten… better," exhaustedly says Rana.

"Same… with you," replied Ryusei.

Both Ryusei and Rana gain the energy to stand up again.

"Excellent. It seems you've improved since five years ago, Kazuya Aoi."

Everyone begins looking around as to who was talking. They hear the sounds of engines being used and turn to its direction.

"It's you!" shouted Ryusei as he sees who was talking.

* * *

Everyone looks towards a man standing on top of the right palm of what appears to be a bipedal machine that doesn't look like it was made by humans.

The man has short silver hair, blue eyes, and an above average physique. He wears a ghost white coat laced with gold, a golden _soubreveste_ with a four-pointed star that is also colored gold in a white circle in the middle, a gold collar, sleeves with cuffs that have a regimental lace colored gold, vertical double pockets, breeches and a waistbelt colored ivory, and black leather boots.

"What are you doing here, Banul Panum?" asked Ryusei. "Or should I say, _Apollyon Crowley_?"

Arthur and the others are shocked by the names Ryusei had given to the man that had just appeared.

"Who is that man?" asked Ganessa.

"Apollyon Crowley is one of Chevalier's financiers," answered Arthur. "He even designed all the Genetics schools, West Genetics included."

"I just came here to watch your fight," answered the man named both Banul and Apollyon. "Based on how you fought today, you can come by anytime at Chevalier Headquarters if you want your precious Satellizer el Bridget."

The man begins to laugh maniacally as he leaves. In the midst of this, Ryusei grits his teeth in anger.

* * *

After five seconds, Ryusei returns to being calm and facing Arthur and the others.

"I imagine Hikoboshi has told you about who I really am," says Ryusei. "I think it's about time I told you everything. I'll start by admitting that I am Kazuya Aoi."

Ryusei, or rather, Kazuya Aoi, begins to remove his eyepatch. He now has a scar that runs across his left eye that hasn't really damaged the eye.

* * *

Translations

Kuuga (Japanese) – kanji for "void" and "fang"

Suzaku Enshou (Japanese) – kanji for "Vermillion Bird", "flame", and "palm"

Tenhaga (Japanese) – kanji for "heaven", "wave", and "fang"

Ouryu Raiha (Japanese) – kanji for "Golden Dragon", "lightning", and "command"

Soubreveste (French) – "clothing you put over the rest". Derived from the Italian word "sopravesta".

* * *

A/N:

Yes, Ryusei McAllister is Kazuya Aoi. Did a good job hiding that, didn't I?

Ganessa calling Rana "Tibetan monkey" is a reference to the last pages of Freezing Zero, where Ganessa called Rana as such.

Rana's attack where she does a stab, two spinning kicks, a slash, and a punch is based on the combo done by Goro Majima from the Ryu ga Gotoku/Yakuza series.

Ryusei/Kazuya's shoulder attack as soon as stops using his iaito is that attack in the Chinese martial art Bajiquan ("Eight Extreme Fists" in English and "Hakkyokuken" in Japanese) named "Tie Shan Kao" where you use your shoulders to attack. The principle is actually using your body to do the attack.

Physically, I imagine Apollyon Crowley/Banul Panum's character design based on Yasuomi Uematsu's redesign of BD, the main antagonist of Megazone 23.

Apollyon/Banul's outfit is based on the uniforms of two military units from 18th Century Europe. The white waistcoat is based on the uniform of the Garde du Corps ("Bodyguard" in French) of the Kingdom of Prussia (modern-day northern and central Germany, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship and the region of Silesia in Poland, and the Russian Federation's Kalingrad Oblast). The gold trimmings, vertical double pockets, and the _soubreveste_ are based on the uniform of the Kingdom of France's Mousquetaires de la Garde ("Musketeers of the Guard" in French) unit, which was founded by King Louis XIII in 1622. His descendant King Louis XVI disbanded the unit in 1772 out of budget concerns, and were re-organized just before the French Revolution and dismantled again. They were organized again in 1814 and disbanded permanently after two years.

Ouryu is actually the translation of "Huang Long" from Chinese, which also means "Golden Dragon". It exists only in Chinese mythology, especially in regards to its relation to the Four Symbols, who consist of Qinglong ("Azure Dragon" in English, "Seiryu" in Japanese), Zhu Que ("Vermillion Bird" in English, "Suzaku" in Japanese), Bai Hu ("White Tiger" in English, "Byakko" in Japanese), and Xuanwu ("Black Beast" and "Genbu" in Japanese, with a tortoise and a snake used to represent this symbol). In Japanese mythology, the counterpart for Huang Long is Kuu ("Void" in English), which is the Japanese translation of the Buddhist term Sunyata. The first kanji of Rana's Kuuga is the same one used in relation to the Four Symbols in Japanese mythology.

The body movement of that fireball Ryusei/Kazuya used to counter Rana's Kuuga is based on the Iron Palm technique from Shenmue II. The Iron Palm is a common technique in Chinese martial arts.

The next chapter will contain more reveals on the plot. However, I might be late with getting that done because there will be a lot of reveals. Until then, please wait.


	6. Chapter 6

Kikou Kyuuseishu Gungel

(Armored Saviour Gungel)

* * *

A/N: Apologies for the long wait. This is the longest chapter in the fic by far.

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters in Freezing, nor the initial setting.

* * *

Chapter 6: The Past

* * *

June 15, 2070 (18:03, UTC+09:00)

Isa, Kagoshima Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan

Manegahira

* * *

Hours had passed after Ryusei McAllister's was really outed as Kazuya Aoi. He, Arthur Crypton, Ganessa Roland, Bruce Sykes, Shinji Midorikawa, and Rana Linchen are gathered around a campfire.

"Now then, could you please explain what happened to yourself?" asked Arthur. "How on Earth do you and Apollyon Crowley know each other?"

"Not only that, how exactly can you use Freezing as an actual attack?" asked Ganessa.

"Wait, wait, all will be explained shortly after I finish this smoke," Kazuya replies with a cigarette in his mouth.

"How are you not surprised by all of this?" asked Shinji as he asks Rana.

"I ran into Kazuya-kun plenty of times before this," replied Rana.

Kazuya then removes the cigarette from his mouth. He then blows off smoke from his mouth.

"Now that I'm done with my smoke, it's time I start explaining myself. It began in West Genetics."

* * *

July 20, 2065 (11:03, UTC+09:00)

Shinto, Shizuoka Prefecture, Chubu Region, Japan

West Genetics, Ravensbourne Nucleotide

* * *

In 2030, a portion of the town of Minamizu in Shuzuoka Prefecture's Kumo District, which is part of the Izu Peninsula, was to become a city of its own. That city was finished in 2040 and was christened "Shinto". Another decade later, it became the host to another Genetics school named West Genetics.

The Genetics schools were made by Chevalier to train Pandora. The United States of America, Japan, United Kingdom, French Republic, Federal Republic of Germany, People's Republic of China, and the Republic of India each host a Genetics school. A Genetics school was also established in the Korean peninsula under the administration of both the Republic of Korea in the south and the People's Democratic Republic of Korea in the north.

West Genetics was established in Japan, with one of the figures responsible for its creation being Doctor Gengo Aoi, the man who spearheaded the Pandora Project. Aoi proposed the establishment of West Genetics for the development of new technologies in the fight against the Nova, as well as the hiding place for Maria Lancelot, the mysterious figure who had fought against the Nova until her supposed demise in the 4th Nova Clash of 2015. The rest of Chevalier opposed the idea of another Genetics school in Japan but Aoi won out. However, things have taken a turn for the worst.

West Genetics is now under attack by the Nova. It had already been the battlefield of the 10th and 12th Nova Clashes but this time, the school has no chance of prevailing this time as the Nova have now begun attacking with new forms that overwhelm the Pandora and Limiter units in West Genetics.

The Ravensbourne Nucleotide is an underground dome where Maria Lancelot herself is kept inside. Currently, it is also being used as an escape route for the students as the Nucleotide hosts three entrances to an underground port where submarines being used in the evacuation are being stored.

Protecting one entrance to the underground port is one Pandora with her Limiter. They are Satellizer el Bridget and Kazuya Aoi.

Kazuya hears a sound coming from what appears to be a communicator in his possession. He answers it.

"Kazuya-kun, do you read?"

"I do, Rana," answered Kazuya. "West entrance is secured."

"Me and the rest of Platoon 13 have sealed off the east entrance," replied Rana. "The third-years have the south entrance sealed now. Wait, I hear something."

"Anyone reading this? This is the Capsule Recovery Unit. We are under attack by the Nova, I re-"

"Kazuya, what's the matter?" asked Satellizer as she approaches Kazuya using the communicator. "Is that Rana on the other end."

"It was, She heard the recovery team Gramps sent to get Maria Lancelot is in trouble, we have to help," says Kazuya.

"I can hear you both I think that's a bad idea!" shouted Rana on her end. "Not only that, we've just sealed off the other two entrances. There wouldn't be any time left to wait for the both of you."

"It'll be fine, Rana."

"Fine. I'll try and beg Sister Margaret to wait for you."

* * *

Both Kazuya and Satellizer make it to the main underground section of Ravensbourne Nucleotide, where Maria Lancelot is kept. However, they arrive too late, as the unit sent to retrieve Maria Lancelot had been eliminated, except for one man.

The man that suddenly faces Kazuya and Satellizer is Apollyon Crowley, whose real name is Banul Panum. However, the former two don't know of him by either of those names.

 _Wh- What is this feeling?_ Satellizer asked in her mind. _That man doesn't appear to be human._

 _This feeling, it's like mine,_ Kazuya in his mind. _Not only that, it's his eyes._

Banul's eyes aren't of a normal human being's as he has slits over each pupil.

"Are you with the recovery team?" asked Kazuya.

"No," answered Banul. "Get them!"

Two Pandora-Type Nova appear. One behind Kazuya and Satellizer, and another in front of them.

"Satella-senpai, we have to finish this quickly," says Kazuya.

"Got it," replied Satellizer.

Kazuya then proceeds to use Freezing. In the midst of this, Satellizer summons her Volt Weapon Nova Blood. Kazuya concentrates his Freezing further, causing Satellizer to have light in the form of two wings appear.

As he uses his Freezing, Kazuya's eyes have slits above their pupils. This shows that his Freezing is like no other.

 _Well, it seems that boy might be the one in the prophecy,_ the man says in his mind.

The two Pandora-Types charge at both Kazuya and Satellizer. Satellizer makes quick work of the two Nova.

Banul suddenly disappears. After a second, he appears to Kazuya and Satellizer's right.

 _That move just now, it was an Illusion Turn,_ Satellizer has in her mind.

"Kazuya, please stay back," asked Satellizer.

"Got it," replied Kazuya.

As Kazuya does as Satellizer asked him to do, she grips Nova Blood firmly. Banul appears to show no fear as he is unarmed.

Satellizer then strikes first but Banul crouches. He then moves to Satellizer's right. The former attempts to use her right leg but the latter evades it by returning to his original position.

 _Not only did he do an Illusion Turn but he can evade my attacks,_ Satellizer has in her mind. _Just who is this man?_

Satellizer attempts to slash Banul again but he evades. He then uses his right leg to kick the right side of Satellizer's neck, literally stunning her. Banul then uses his right leg again and does a spinning kick that has himself spin in a full circle as he does so, fully knocking Satellizer into the ground by hitting her neck's left side.

"Satella-senpai!" shouted Kazuya.

Suddenly, a figure covering his or her body with nothing but a cape and is wearing a mask appears. The figure grabs Kazuya,

"Good, you're here," says Banul. "Put him down to the ground."

"Yes, Master," replied the figure.

The masked figure then puts Kazuya into the ground. The latter is made to watch Banul and Satellizer.

Banul then opens his right hand into a palm. A burst of energy appears around Satellizer.

Satellizer then gets up. However, her eyes are completely blank.

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO SATELLA-SENPAI!?" shouted Kazuya.

"Just watch, boy," says Banul.

 _Wh- What's going on,_ says Satellizer in her mind. _Why am I moving? Is it because of that ma- Wait, why am I approaching Kazuya?_

Satellizer then prepares to use her Nova Blood. However, it would appear that she isn't doing it out of her own volition.

 _No, NO!_ shouted Satellizer in her mind. _Don't! Not Kazuya!_

As Kazuya is pinned down into the ground, he sees the woman he loves about to use her weapon at him. As far as Kazuya is concerned, agency will not change the reality of Satellizer drawing Nova Blood at him.

In an instant, Kazuya's right hand is violently separated from his right arm. The mysterious figure then lets go of the boy to have him suffer from blood loss.

The mysterious figure then shoots Satellizer with a P320 semi-automatic pistol. However, the bullet bounces off Satellizer's head and doesn't hurt her in the slightest. However, she falls unconscious.

"That's just a tranquilizer bullet," says Banul. "Now pay real attention to comes next."

Banul then opens his right hand. As he does, Kazuya's arm is being causterized.

 _Is that man healing the wound he gave me?_ Kazuya asked in his mind. _Why?_

Banul then turns his right hand towards Satellizer. Slowly from the leg up, Satellizer is then encased in ice. He then has the frozen Satellizer vanished.

 _First, he does an Illusion Turn. Then he does Freezing in ways that I couldn't, especially after what happened last month,_ Kazuya has in his mind. _Is this man even human? Not only that, he seems to control the Nova._

"I imagine you want to know why I healed your wound, don't you?" asked Banul. "No need to answer, I'll do that."

For everything that is happening around him, Kazuya is too angry to even ask. He shows no hesitation in showing his anger.

"You see, what I'm going to tell you will be crueler than a missing arm. First, I have something to show you."

Banul then comes really close to his subordinate. He then removes the mask. The person behind the mask shocks Kazuya.

 _I… It can't… be, Chi… Chiffon-senpai?_ Kazuya asked in horror.

The person before Kazuya is a teenage woman with long blonde hair and slits above her eyes' pupils. Her opens eyes aside, Kazuya knew of that woman as Chiffon Fairchild.

Chiffon Fairchild was known as the "Smiling Monster" for always closing her eyes and smiling, which ends if one crosses her. Her fighting skills earned the name "Monster", and thus, she was West Genetics' strongest Pandora. She died in the 11th Nova Clash.

What the public does not know of is that she is a Legendary Pandora. Around 2022, Gengo Aoi conducted a top-secret project that involved using DNA samples of Maria Lancelot. The project was to clone her, and the result was five teenage girls. Chiffon was one of them, and she was designated as "Legend V". However, she had escaped from the top-secret Chevalier laboratory in North America named "Lab 13". This led to the rest of Chevalier viewing Gengo as a suspicious man and sent a heavily armed unit to kill Chiffon. It ended in failure as a civilian woman named Aureriel Fairchild was killed by the Chevalier unit, with the Legendary Pandora violently retaliating. She had taken the "Fairchild" surname in honor of Aureriel when she applied for West Genetics in 2062.

Kazuya is in shock as to why the person before him resembles Chiffon. As far as he is concerned, Chiffon died months before.

"You're wondering why the person standing before you looks like Chiffon Fairchild, aren't you?" asked Banul. "Also, I sense something puzzling you."

"Are you using Freezing again!?" angrily asked Kazuya.

"No, my boy," replied Banul. "You probably think Chiffon is related to you, don't you?"

"I…. " Kazuya says weakly as he has nothing to use as a retort.

"Well, allow me to explain. You see, your grandfather Gengo Aoi cloned Maria Lancelot the same time your miserable father Ryuichi Aoi was born. I imagine you've found out you're related to Maria Lancelot through them."

"DOES IT MATTER TO YOU!?"

"Maybe. Let me continue. You've already met four of them but did you know there was one more?"

"You can't be possible referre-"

"Yes, I am. Chiffon Fairchild is one of your aunts. Or rather was. You see, you're looking at a clone I had made from DNA samples I managed to acquire. Also, there's this I must show you."

Banul then uses his right hand again. Kazuya now sees what appear to be visions. Visions of pain, suffering, death, and destruction. He sees planets and objects from space falling from Earth. In those visions are Nova, He then sees Nova in large vats, as well as Maria Lancelot and Banul himself in vats.

"W… What was… that?" asked Kazuya in a weak tone.

"Allow me to explain," says Banul. "We humans created the Nova."

Kazuya is now horrified. What horrifies him is that "human", "made", and "Nova" in the same sentence.

"You…You must be lying!" shouted Kazuya. "Why would we have created the Nova and how?"

"You can't deny what you've seen. Given we have plenty of time, I feel like telling you a long story."

"I don't think so, Banul."

A lightning bolt then hits Banul. A wave of energy on the ground is aimed at Chiffon's clone but she evades.

Suddenly appearing are two men, one woman, and a masked figure. The two men and one woman wear the same 18th Century European military uniforms.

One man has gray hair of average length. The other man, who is taller, has long blond hair and a short blond beard. Both men have hazel eyes.

The woman has long brown hair and purple eyes. She is also wearing a large black hat associated with witches.

"So, the ghosts of the First Empire have come?" snidely asked Banul. "I assume you're here for the boy?"

"We are," replied the older man. "Surely you must know who he really is."

"I knew since a month ago when five Pandora-Types were drawn to some random mansion Aoi used as a safehouse. I felt it."

Suddenly, a horde of Humanoid-Types appear, surrounding the four.

"Don't think we can die by this many Nova," says the blond man. "You've gotten arrogant after two millennia."

"Perhaps but you'll be dying here," replied Banul.

Kazuya, still on the ground, watches as the individuals appear begin to easily eliminate the Humanoid-Types.

 _"First Empire?" What did that mean?_ Kazuya asked in his mind. _Those people, they're using Freezing like he did. Who are they?_

"Good, I've made it in time," says a man that approaches Kazuya and begins to pick him up.

The man is in his mid-fifties and has short black hair that is graying, showing his age. He is formally dressed for such a situation as he is wearing a formal suit with a black necktie. On his suit's right collar is a crest that has the kanji for "east" in a wreath.

"Y… You're… Ono oya-san," says Kazuya.

Kazuya then feels something sharp that has hit him in the arm. It then gives a feeling of cement that hardens, having him lose unconsciousness.

"Good you remembered me," says the man with the surname Ono. "However, we can't talk here."

"Ono, get the boy out of here," shouted the older man. "We'll keep Banul busy."

"Got it."

Ono then does what appears to be an Illusion Turn, vanishing as he takes Kazuya with him. The others also vanish.

* * *

June 15, 2070 (19:43, UTC+09:00)

Isa, Kagoshima Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan

Manegahira

* * *

Back in the present, Kazuya and the others take a break from the story the former was telling. They do so by having their dinner. They had eaten for thirty minutes.

"Are you serious that a bunch people who fought like you saved your lives as West Genetics fell?" asked Ganessa in a disbelieving tone.

"I'm sure of it," replied Kazuya.

"I can vouch for that," replied Rana. "Now that I think about, that explains why some masked figure popped out of nowhere in the escape subs and told everyone on board they made off with Kazuya-kun."

"I remember. I was told the people who saved me managed to inform Gramps."

"Wait, you also mentioned a man who has the surname Ono?" asked Shinji. "That man wouldn't be Hiroki Ono, chairman of the Eastern Collective, would he?"

"He is."

"What!? You do know he's a major Yakuza boss, right?"

"I know that. Whenever Grandfather was too busy with work to see us, my older sister Kazuha and I stayed over at an orphanage Ono oya-san also managed."

"I see."

"Other than that, Ganessa-senpai is right," says Arthur. "How can you even do those abilities? Not only that, you claimed that we humans made the Nova. I find that one the hardest to believe."

"Just pay attention because we'll resume the story."

* * *

July 20, 2065 (12:53, UTC+09:00)

Suruga Bay

* * *

"W...Where… am I?"

Kazuya begins to come about. However, he is no longer in West Genetics. Currently, he is in a bed in a room of a container ship in the middle of Suruga Bay.

Kazuya's sight has yet to fully return. He is unaware that he now hosts a metallic prosthetic to the right arm he had lost back in West Genetics.

In that instant, Kazuya's sight returns. He then sees Ono coming inside.

"Good, you're awake," says Ono.

"Oya-san, where am I?" asked an oblivious Kazuya. "Wait, where are Gramps and the others."

"Calm yourself down," replied Ono. "I already informed Gengo we saved your life."

"I see, thanks. Where he is he now?"

"The escapes subs should have left West Genetics by now. The Nova won't be giving chase."

"That's good to know."

"Now then, Kazuya, do you still remember what had happened hours ago?"

"Well I… ," Kazuya says as he barely continues talking. "I… I remember… everything. A man with silver hair who defeated Sate- Where's Satella-senpai now!? That man took her after freezing her solid in ice!"

While Kazuya moved around, he then sees that his metallic right hand. He stays quiet again.

"W… Why… do I… have this… hand?"

"Kazuya, we did that for your own good. I injected you with anesthetic when we saved your life. I'm sorry about Satella but we were too late. I also had them attach that prosthetic on you."

"I see, tha-" Kazuya says before he realized something Ono had said. "Wait a second, did you say 'Satella'? How do you know her nickname."

Ono now shows a face of regret. He had just something he knew he shouldn't have and knew off the consequences of what followed, which is shown with Kazuya.

"Kazuya, it's about time I told you the truth," says a regretful Ono. "As I told you before you went to West Genetics, I had a foreign girl under my care for a while. You asked me and I said I would tell you one day once you had finished your studies at West Genetics. That time has come."

"What truth?" asked Kazuya. "Don't tell me that foreign girl in the orphanage was-"

"Yes, that was Satella," replied Ono. "Do you know who Noelle Alongrutch is?"

"Satella-senpai's biological mother. Even Gramps knows of that."

"Gengo should know. We're somewhat at fault for Noelle and Howard el Bridget meeting."

"Why is it yours and Gramps' fault?"

"Kazuya, what I will tell you will require every bit of courage you can muster."

"Something tells me I won't like hearing this."

"You have to. I had spies inside the el Bridget estate and they have reported to me every single finding. I had a spy when you and Satella went to Bali. I was even told you refused something Louis el Bridget tried to give you."

"Because it concerns Satella-senpai's past. As I told Louis then, I'm not interested."

"It doesn't matter if you're interested or not. Please, you have to know this. I'll tell everything that man said after this."

Kazuya doesn't immediately respond. Natural for him to do so as he wishes to think deeply about his next decision.

 _What do I do?_ Kazuya asked in his mind. _I need to know everything the man who took Satella-senpai was saying. However, Ono oya-san refuses to tell me unless I listen to his story._

"Fine," replied Kazuya. "I will listen to what I will have to say."

"Good."

Ono spent ninety minutes explaining everything to Kazuya about his relationship to Noelle Alongrutch and her daughter Satellizer, as well as how the former met Howard el Bridget, which led to Satellizer's conception. Ono also explained why Noelle and Satellizer had to move to the el Bridget estate, then brought up the horrible circumstances the two Alongrutch women suffered under, especially Satellizer's suffering.

In all of this, Kazuya kept himself calm. Ono takes notice.

"You've managed to listen to me well," remarked Ono.

"Wasn't the first time I've been told of terrible secrets," replied Kazuya.

"Good. Now then, are you prepared for the next part?"

"I am."

A man in a similar suit to Ono's appears. He is carrying a laptop computer with a flash drive attached to it. The man then gives it to Ono, with the latter turning it on and accessing the files inside the flash drive. There are five files inside the folder pertaining to the flash drive. All the files are only named by one number.

"Now, are you ready?" asked Ono.

"I am," solemnly replied Kazuya.

Ono then presses the first file, appropriately given the number "1". The file is then prepared to be played by the computer's video player. After thirty seconds, the video starts.

What the video contains is two blond-haired children, a boy, and a girl, outside a mansion. They are Satellizer and Louis, respectively nine and eight years old. However, there what appears to be something wrong as Louis sits on Satellizer as if the latter is acting like a horse and the former as the rider. Louis is using what appears to be a cat o' nine tails on Satellizer.

"Did you hear me?" arrogantly asked Louis. "Get down on all fours and run for me!"

Louis then hits Satellizer again.

"Mother said so as well! You peasants are good for nothing except lowering your heads for your superiors, us!"

Ono then stops the video, albeit in the very middle of it. He notices that Kazuya is just sitting still as he saw the video.

"You don't seem so horrified by what I'm showing you," says Ono.

"I… honestly don't… know what else to say," replied Kazuya.

"Shall we continue?"

"Seems like you're the one hesitating to continue."

"Fair point."

Both Ono and Kazuya finish watching all five files after an hour. Kazuya's initial attitude before watching the videos has changed, but after watching all five of the videos, he makes it obvious that he is horrified.

"Kazuya, are you alright?" asked a concerned Ono.

"I am… I guess," weakly replied Kazuya.

"I was like that too when I first saw those videos. Please get yourself together!"

Ono then slaps Kazuya with his right hand. Kazuya immediately uses his eyes normally.

"Oya-san, thank you."

"Now that you're back to normal, I am going to explain everything."

"If I may, can I also ask this: if Satella-senpai was under your care, why don't I remember any of this? Same with her?"

"I managed to erase both your memories and Satella's."

"But why do such a thing?"

"In your case, I didn't want you suffering for my mistake of sending her and Noelle to the el Bridget estate. In Satella's case, it would have been too painful for her to remember living with me. Noelle managed to keep this from Satella even to the grave."

"Not only that, how could you do such a thing?"

"Now I'll tell you everything. First, I can access the life forces of those I target."

"Life forces?"

"They are what bind all of life. Nothing even exists less there is life. Freezing is actually using life forces. A normal human can do such an ability with enough concentration. Even women. The reason why men can only be Limiters and women be Pandora is because of using Nova tissue. You might know of them as Stigmata."

"How could Stigma cause such a problem?" asked a shocked Kazuya.

"Because humans aren't genetically similar to Nova. Life forces are also determined by genetics. That reason is why Stigmata are more of a burden in using life forces. Gengo knows none of this. It's also why the Ereinbar Set only works when a woman is older than the man she chooses."

"I see. Now then, please explain how humanity made the Nova."

"I will. However, it's a long story. Shall we eat first?"

"Sure."

* * *

June 15, 2070 (21:00, UTC+09:00)

Isa, Kagoshima Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan

Manegahira

* * *

It had only been two hours for Kazuya to have told that far into his story. Everyone else is shocked.

"Wait, so people without Stigmata can access these 'life forces' or whatever you call them?" asked Ganessa. "How is that any different from having a Stigmata?"

"You can do plenty compared to what a Limiter can do after a Baptism," replied Kazuya. "Unfortunately, the Stigmata limit what an individual can do."

"Whatever," replied Rana with a dissatisfied face and folded arms.

"Rana, what's the matter with you?" asked Shinji.

"What's the matter? I can't believe Satella-san had a headstart and only amnesia made sure she forgot! Sound's like a really bad romance novel."

"Come on Rana, don't be like that," says Kazuya to diffuse Rana's complaints. "It's not like we would have never met."

"Honestly, that is pretty funny," says Arthur.

"SHUT UP!" shouted Rana at Arthur.

"Can I please resume the story?" asked Kazuya.

"Kazuya's right," says Bruce. "Please let him continue."

"Thank you, Bruce."

* * *

July 20, 2065 (13:30, UTC+09:00)

Pacific Ocean

* * *

The container ship owned by Ono is now in the Pacific Ocean proper. However, they haven't fully left Japan yet.

Kazuya and Ono then go to the ship's bow. The former, as he was being operated, is in a hospital gown.

Other than the ship they are on, multiple ships are also being sighted.

"Oya-san, what's with the ships?" asked Kazuya,

"They're also fleeing Japan like we are," replied Ono. "This ship is also full of refugees. Every single Gokudo organization is doing their part in evacuating civilians."

"I see."

"Enough of that. Allow me to continue my story."

"Sure."

"I'll start with us humans."

"Us humans?"

"Before knowing why we created the Nova, you must know the beginnings of our race. We humans started our existence on a planet called Malitz in the Alnilam System that is part of Orion's Belt."

"Wait, we humans came from Orion's Belt?"

"We did. Humanity made into five groups based on skin color. The current-day names for these groups based on skin color are Australoid, Caploid, Caucasoid, Mongoloid, and Congoloid races. Each group formed a kingdom and fought each other. Eventually, all of humanity united after a cataclysmic event. Following that, the First Empire was formed."

"Why was it called the First Empire?"

"Because we humans back then assumed that we were the first race to act, think, and create like our supposed creators, the Old Gods, who were eliminated in the very calamity that brought mankind together. Around that time, we learned the Old Gods may have created us because they manipulated life forces. We found out we can do the same. The Order of Life was founded to further study life forces. By studying life forces, mankind was able to technologically advance. Civilization back then was more advanced than now. We expanded ourselves throughout the entire Belt. However, we slowly became arrogant over time, to the point we had fought a war in the Alnitak System due to mineral deposits. We then thought we could create life like the Old Gods did."

"So the First Empire created the Nova next, didn't they?" asked Kazuya as he realized the direction Ono was taking with his story.

"Yes," bitterly answered Ono. "We created them to be weapons that would make achieving victory easier. The Nova then became sentient. Whenever a Nova showed defiance, it was eliminated in secret. It got worse as we created Nova in the form of human beings."

"The Humanoid-Types and the Pandora-Types, right?"

"Exactly. Before that, we had created two Nova in the image of man. One was a man and one was a woman. You might respectively know them best as Apollyon Crowley and Maria Lancelot."

Kazuya is shocked by what Ono had just said. Other than the Nova existing due to mankind's arrogance, what shocks him is that the woman who is most likely his grandmother and a man he had just met who took Satellizer from him are the first two Pandora-Types.

"Surprised?" asked Ono. "It's natural."

"How did the Empire get destroyed, and why did the Nova start attacking mankind again in 2012?"

"After we had made the Belt into a space-faring empire, we discovered this planet. This was an opportunity to develop a new way of traveling. Based on the "Altering Presence" technique that you know of these days as Illusion Turn, we developed a colony ship that can travel without much time passing. The voyage was a success, and we made this planet, which resembled Malitz, a colony. We started in a portion of Northwestern Africa."

"But what about the Nova?"

"Well, in another war that was our arrogance coming full circle, the Nova revolted in the midst of this war. The entire Empire in the Belt was obliterated. The colony in Earth was obliterated. As was the dinosaurs that once inhabited this planet. However, the Nova were defeated and sealed in an artificially made pocket dimension. We thought that was over, but we were wrong."

"How terrible," says Kazuya.

"I agree," replied Ono. 'That is why we saved you. Banul made the mistake of coming out into the open."

"Banul, so that's his name."

"It is. For millennia, humanity had rebuilt civilization at a slower pace. In the midst of this, Banul escaped from his prison and assumed many names. He surfaced as Apollyon Crowley and made himself a household name. He helped organize Chevalier. As did me, Howard, and Gengo."

"Wait, you helped build Chevalier?" Kazuya asked with surprise.

"Not initially. I did so to prove the Kanto Collective was legitimizing as I was made its Commissioner. However, Banul had retreated to the shadows, so I did so as well to combat him. Banul as Apollyon Crowley helped build every important Chevalier structure, including their Grand Canyon headquarters. The Genetics schools, especially West Genetics, are also his designs."

"He designed West Genetics?"

"He did. Every Nova attack came from the pocket dimension. As to why he didn't obliterate mankind completely and attacked in few numbers every time, he wanted to test humanity's ability and will to fight."

 _I can hardly believe everything I just heard,_ Kazuya says in his mind. _First, I lose a hand and Satella-senpai. Then I'm told I met her a long time ago. Now, the entire history of mankind, and of the Nova's, has just been summarized to me._

"Can I ask you a question?"

"What is it?"

"How do you know of this yourself?"

"I am a reincarnation of someone from the last days of the Empire. Specifically, an Order of Life member."

"Reincarnation?"

"Yes, reincarnation is a reality. It was a theory then. Now, it's a fact, as people like me from that time reincarnated to this era."

"What was your name then?"

"Samir Balaskov."

"How does reincarnation work?"

"We know it works. The problem is that we don't know how or why. As for the effects, the current incarnation inherits abilities and even genetic relations from the past life. One can have an ancestor from the days of Empire for that reason."

"I see."

"Now then, there's something you must do."

"What?"

"Test if you can muster life forces."

"Isn't Freezing the same?"

"As I said before, it isn't. You can do more than that. You can even use life forces to attack, just as we have done when we saved you."

"Before I even think of doing that, who are the people you mentioned?"

"They're the same people who sealed off the Nova millennia ago."

"Wait, how is that possible? Shouldn't they be reincarnations too like you are?"

"One of them is in an artificially made body. One took over the body of her reincarnation. Two of them have a unique bloodline. Their stories will be for another time."

"Very well."

"Now then, try to muster life forces. Try to use them in an attack."

Kazuya then closes his eyes. He stretches his arms and opens his hands.

 _Come on Kazuya, concentrate,_ Kazuya says in his mind. _Think_ _of_ _an attack. Think of anything._

To show that he is concentrating, Kazuya firmly presses his eyelids and begins to stretch out his legs. As he does after one minute, energy begins to surround him.

 _I feel it. I'm feeling energy coming to me._

Suddenly, Kazuya then opens his eyes. As he does, he sees a ball of energy in front of him.

 _Maybe I can release it. I'm sure Ono oya-san wouldn't mind._

Kazuya then releases the ball of energy. As he does, he feels the recoil of launching the ball of energy but doesn't fall into the ground.

"Excellent job, Kazuya," says Ono. "Now then, try to recover your own memories of Satella before I sent her to live with her birth father."

Kazuya does so by restarting the process. He manages to summon energy again, which promptly surrounds him and forms a dome around him.

* * *

Kazuya then opens his eyes and finds himself no longer on the ship. Now, he sees the evening sky and finds himself on a large estate with a small pond. He is now standing on a wooden floor.

 _I must be in the orphanage,_ Kazuya says in his mind.

Kazuya begins to look around. He then finds his five-year-old self watching the evening sky.

 _Whenever me and Nee-san stayed over in the orphanage and I was studying for a test, I took a break by looking at the evening sky to relax._

Both the five-year-old Kazuya and the fifteen-year-old Kazuya hear a girl singing. The girl they see is a seven-year-old with blonde hair, blue eyes, and a hairband.

The five-year-old Kazuya only walks twice. He stops to continue listening. After two minutes, the girl finishes her song, then notices Kazuya.

"Oh… I'm sorry, did I bother you?" asked the girl.

"You didn't," replied five-year-old Kazuya. "Where did you learn that song?"

"From my mother," replied the girl.

"We see each other once for a couple of days. This is just the first time I'm talking to you, so what might be your name?"

"S… Satellizer Alongrutch.," answered the seven-year-old girl.

 _Now it comes back to me. This was when I met Satella-senpai. Before she became my senpai that is._

"Kazuya Aoi," said the five-year-old boy.

"You can just call me 'Satella'."

"I will."

* * *

Everything then vanishes around the fifteen-year-old Kazuya. He now finds himself back on the ship. Ono then approaches.

"Now is it all coming back to you?" asked Ono.

"It is," replied Kazuya.

"Now then, there's something I want to do. Kazuya, do you still remember learning martial arts from me?"

"I do. Nee-san and I agreed to be trained under you and Gramps didn't mind when he heard of this. I've haven't trained at all since Nee-san died. Even worse when you had me go to West Genetics."

"I see. I just want to test if you really don't. Get to your stance."

Both Kazuya and Ono respectively get into their stances. Kazuya's stance just consists of him raising both of his arms high up with his hands formed into fists. Ono's is more formal as he has his left arm raised high and its fist clenched and the right arm raised down but with its fist clenched. He also has his right leg bent facing Kazuya while his left leg is bent as well but facing away from him.

 _As I thought, he really hasn't trained at all,_ Ono has in his mind looking at Kazuya's "stance".

In that instant, Kazuya strikes first with his right fist, but Ono evades it. The latter then grabs the former's right arm, turns to his original position but facing away from Kazuya, and throws him into the floor.

 _As I… thought, I really have let myself go,_ says Kazuya in his mind.

"Get up, boy!" shouted Ono. "That can't be all you got."

Kazuya does as Ono asks. He then attempts another punch with the left fist but Ono evades it. Ono then kicks Kazuya in the left side of the latter's neck with his right leg.

Fazed for ten seconds, Kazuya attempts to use his left leg. Ono hides under the leg. He then feels energy coming to him.

 _Kazuya seems to be summoning energy with that kick of his. He forgot all that I taught him but he clearly has potential. Maybe he might be the one foretold in the prophecy._

Ono then uses his left hand and quickly hits Kazuya in his chin. Kazuya is then sent to the metal floor again.

Ono then gets close to Kazuya. He then offers his hand.

"I… I… have nothing to say."

"Is that it? Just get up."

Kazuya then takes Ono's hand and resumes standing.

"You may have forgotten my lessons to you but it seems you have potential."

"Potential?"

"You began summoning energy when you attempted that kick. You weren't even concentrating."

"I… Is that bad?"

"No, it isn't. If you wish to get Satella back and defeat Banul, you'll have to learn how to fight again. However, I cannot teach you."

"Why not?"

"My place is to help those who have fled Japan as the Nova conquered it. I've already begun building a new city for Japanese refugees."

"A new city for refugees?"

"Yes. That's where this ship this going to. It will be an extension of Honolulu, Hawaii."

"We're going to Hawaii?"

"I am, as well as the refugees in this ship. As for you, you'll be going back to Japan after we make it to Hawaii."

"Won't the Nova attack anything going to Japan at this point?"

"We'll prepare a secret route for you to use. Where you're going should be a place the Nova won't be able to go to."

* * *

June 15, 2070 (20:43, UTC+09:00)

Isa, Kagoshima Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan

Manegahira

* * *

"So that explains your infiltration routes here?" asked Arthur in the present.

"That's right," replied Kazuya. "I learned to make more of them from a group of people Ono oya-san needed me to meet when I returned to Japan."

"Where in Japan did you have to go?" asked Rana.

"The village of Otaki in the Nagano Prefecture, which was in the middle of the mountains. Near Mount Kohide, there's a village no one knows of other than Ono oya-san. The people who lived there are also remnants of the First Empire. However, back then, they were treated as outcasts."

"For what?" asked Shinji.

"For accessing powers that one should access," replied Kazuya. "Powers I can access as well."

"What powers?" asked Rana.

"Relying on your anger to summon energy and even developing brutal techniques. One of those techniques was relying on the shadows. These people were known as the 'Shadow Hunters'."

"Shadow Hunters?" asked Ganessa. "Are they like ninja?"

"You could call them that," answered Kazuya.

"How did you even get into Japan anyways?" asked Bruce.

"After the ship arrived in Honolulu, Onooya-san had me placed in a metallic container shaped like a torpedo and the inside of it was filled with cushions. I was then given a map and necessities. After I got into the container, it was then carried off by a helicopter and the container was dropped off near enough to Mount Kohide. As I followed the directions on the map, I made it to that village."

* * *

July 29, 2065 (15:30, UTC+09:00)

Otaki, Kiso District, Nagano Prefecture, Chubu Region, Japan

Near Mount Kohide

* * *

Kazuya, while keeping a mountaineer's backpack with him, makes it to Mount Kohide. He then brings out a map.

The map is colored beige. There are two marked locations. One is a red dot named "Landing Spot" and the other is an X, with the latter the intended destination. They are connected by red broken lines that point out where Kazuya had to go. There are blue markings, which indicate where Kazuya had to turn as per the map's instructions.

"I've followed the route so far. I should be near it but I don't see it," says Kazuya as he looks into the map. Given that these are people from the First Empire, I should use life forces to find the village."

Kazuya then stretches out his right arm and opens its hand. He closes his eyes to concentrate energy on finding the village.

After ten seconds, Kazuya opens his eyes. He sees what appears to be a village straight out of a film set in ancient Japan.

"Well, if you're going to be hidden, you might as well not be modernized," says Kazuya.

Suddenly, he is surrounded by four men in midnight blue whose faces are completely covered other than their eyes. They are dressed like ninja.

"Who art thee?" asked one of the four masked men surrounding Kazuya. "Art thee a spy of Banul's?"

 _Even these guys talk like in a movie set in Ancient Japan,_ Kazuya has in his mind.

`"No, I'm not!" answered Kazuya. "I was told to look for you."

"The knave wilt beest coming with us."

The four men then turn their attention to a man who is masked like them. The difference is that he is in black. They bow their heads.

"So, who toldeth thee to behold for us?" asked the man in black.

"Ono Hiroki," replied Kazuya.

"Samir's reincarnation. Follow us."

The five men begin to leave first. Kazuya follows.

 _Now he talks like in the present._

Twenty minutes later, the five men and Kazuya arrive in the village. Its denizens focus their attention to the boy, which is natural for a stranger like Kazuya.

"Might I please ask your name?" asked Kazuya.

"I'm Zan'ei. The leader of the Shadow Hunters."

"Shadow Hunters?"

"We have bore the discrimination of using the dark side of life energy because of the high arrogance of the Empire. We had fled here upon this planet's discovery and hid from curious eyes for millennia. You have summoned dark power like we have, hence why Balaskov's reincarnation brought you here."

"Where will you be taking me?"

"You will know soon in a minute."

After a minute of walking, Zan'ei, his subordinates, and Kazuya then arrive at a cave.

"A cave?" asked Kazuya.

"Proceed inside," says Zan'ei. "One is waiting for you there."

Kazuya proceeds inside the cave. As he is inside, he vanishes.

* * *

Kazuya then appears in what appears to be a jungle. He then looks around.

"Where am I now?" asked Kazuya.

"Good you made it."

Kazuya then turns his attention to the old man who helped save him in West Genetics. However, he now wears a robe and pants colored white, as well as a red belt and black shoes.

"You're that old man who helped save me."

"I'm glad you remembered me. Please don't call me 'old'. In any case, follow me."

The old man proceeds ahead. Kazuya follows me.

Both Kazuya and the old man then make it what appears to be a large one-floor wooden house. They proceed inside.

"Where are we?" asked Kazuya.

"This was once a research facility for the Order of Life," says the old man. "I live here now."

"All by yourself?

"Regretfully, yes. Oh, I forgot my manners. My name is Alnul Panum."

"Kazuya Aoi."

"My comrades and I know who you are. We've been told of you by Hiroki-kun."

"Ono oya-san told me to come here. Why?"

"Sit down and have tea with me, then I'll tell you everything."

Kazuya then makes himself comfortable to a nearby sofa. Alnul then goes inside what appears to be a kitchen to prepare tea.

Kazuya looks around. He sees what appears to be ancient furniture and various machines.

"Tea's ready," says Alnul as he as a tray with two ceramic cups and a ceramic teapot.

Alnul then lays the tray on the table, with himself getting seated on the sofa opposite Kazuya's. They proceed to have their tea by blowing off the steam to make it easier for themselves to drink.

Both Kazuya and Alnul drink the tea. The former finishes up first.

"For a house that looks ancient, you have machines in here," says Kazuya.

"I keep myself amused with them," replied Alnul. "They're powered by Infinium."

"Infinium?"

"It will be a new element, and it will come in handy for the new weapons we'll be introducing to retaliate against the Nova."

"New weapons?"

"My comrades are in Africa preparing the colony ship."

"Colony ship? You mean a First Empire colony ship?"

"Not just any other colony ship. It's the very one that landed here on Earth millennia ago. We managed to keep it hidden and now that the Nova have fully come back, now is the perfect time to reopen it and offer its technological wonders to mankind for the counterattack. Infinium is one of those fruits we will be offering, and here on Earth, there are untapped deposits."

"What does Infinium do?"

"Provide unlimited power. Think of it as nuclear power but cleaner."

"I see."

"I also sensed your fight with Hiroki-kun. You have dark power like the Shadow Hunters above and that is a major reason why you're here."

"Right, please tell me everything you know," asked Kazuya as he bows his head down.

"I'll begin," says Alnul. "Back in the days of the Empire, I was one of the most powerful life force users in the Order of Life. One day, I heard of a prophecy."

"A prophecy?"

"In the appearance of a new walk of life, the balance of life will be threatened. Two warriors must restore the balance. One of Darkness Born from Light and one of Light Born from Darkness. Their path shall be laid with many perils but all of this will rest on their courage."

"What are the 'new walks of life' then?"

"The Nova."

Kazuya gives a surprised look on his face. It is expected for him as such, given it's not easy to accept that the Nova were prophesized.

"Yes, the Nova were prophesized. I was surprised too back then, considering that it was the Empire's arrogance that made the prophecy come true and that led to its own destruction. However, there is hope."

"Hope?"

"You."

Kazuya is even more surprised than a minute ago. He is now part of the prophecy.

"You are the Warrior of Darkness Born from Light."

"How could that be?"

"We observed what you did a month ago against those Pandora-Type Nova. Especially when you found out about your own conception."

Kazuya then begins to remember everything he learned the month before. In August of 2049, his father Ryuichi Aoi was introduced to the Legendary Pandora by Gengo Aoi. In the midst of that, the former had impregnated his wife and was determined to oppose whatever the latter had planned. Gengo then asked Ryuichi to take care of the first Legendary Pandora Cassandra and treat her like a sister. As Ryuichi and Cassandra had finally managed to get along, Orie had fallen unconscious when she was four months pregnant with Kazuya.

To save the both Orie and Kazuya, Ryuichi reluctantly had Gengo place Kazuya inside Cassandra's womb until Kazuya was born on April 3, 2050. This led to Orie having emotional outbursts that had only gotten worse due to problems between her and her daughter Kazuha. When Kazuya only fed off Cassandra's breast milk, Orie had tried to kill him, but Kazuha killed her instead. Ryuichi took his anger on his own daughter, then Gengo. Gengo then told Ryuichi that his real mother was none other than Maria Lancelot. With that horrible revelation, Ryuichi took his anger at Cassandra violently and sexually. He then killed himself afterward.

"I… I… ," says Kazuya as he is in shock that the events that led to his parents' deaths were part of the prophecy.

"It's natural you'll behave like that. However, I need you to be brave on what else I will tell you."

"R… Right," says Kazuya as he regains the will to listen to Alnul.

"I trained both Banul and Maria Lancelot."

Kazuya is then shocked that Alnul knew who Maria Lancelot was.

"Y… You did?" asked Kazuya.

"I'm the one who trained them how to fight. When they were originally created, the male was named 'Evidence-01' and the female 'Evidence-02'. I took them in as my own children and trained them. I gave the name 'Banul' for Evidence-01, and Evidence-02, whom you know of as Maria Lancelot, was named 'Shamin' Your grandfather Gengo knows nothing of this as he had been fed misinformation by Shamin."

"What?" asked Kazuya. "Maria Lance- I mean, Shamin was a spy?"

"She is," replied Alnul. "Banul had her met Gengo and feed him information that would make set him on his course. The result, the Pandora Project."

"So Banul just wanted to sabotage mankind's ability to fight the Nova?"

"I doubt it. Knowing him, he just wanted to know how that worked. He's most likely satisfied."

Kazuya has nothing else to say. He must now adapt to everything he had learned.

 _Regardless of everything I learned, I need to rescue Satella-senpai,_ Kazuya has in his mind. _But I can't be able to fight the Nova like this, especially with the way they attacked West Genetics._

"Please teach me! shouted Kazuya.

Alnul is taken aback by how sudden Kazuya acted.

"You wish to learn how to fight like we did?" asked Alnul.

"Not only do I want to rescue Satella-senpai, I want to end this war. Please, I beg you!"

 _I can see it,_ Alnul has in his mind. _He is determined to fight and we need his abilities as the Warrior of Darkness Born from Light._

"Very well, I accept you as my disciple," says Alnul. "Are you prepared for how hard I will train you?"

"I am," answered Kazuya. "Allow me to call you Master."

* * *

For four years, Kazuya had learned how to fight again under Alnul. In addition, he learned how to use weapons and how to manipulate life forces into fire, water, wind, and earth. He also learned how to manipulate life forces into metal, ice, and lightning. At the same time, he finished normal lessons while under Alnul. This was done to make sure Kazuya still grew up normally.

The year is now 2069. Kazuya is now nineteen years old. His physique has changed, yet a large scar across his body remains. He now has facial hair.

He and Alnul are now in a stone circle.

"Kazuya, you have learned well under me these past four years," says Alnul. "I imagine you feel ready to fight the Nova and save the woman you love, but I don't think so. There is one more lesson I must teach you."

"Yes, Master," says Kazuya.

"I will now teach you Altering Presence. You might know of this as the Illusion Turn. You might also think the most powerful of Pandora can do such an ability, but as you have learned at this point, a normal human can do anything with life forces if he can concentrate enough regardless of age or gender. Pay attention to how I do it, then I want you to do it yourself."

"Yes, Master."

Alnul then disappears. In an instant, he appears just before Kazuya. After that, he disappears again and reappears to his original position.

"Now you try it."

Kazuya then closes his eyes to concentrate.

 _Come on, Kazuya, concentrate,_ Kazuya has in his mind. _Empty yourself of distractions._

Kazuya then opens his eyes. At the same time, he moves but he disappears. Out of nowhere, he appears in front of Alnul.

"I… I did it," says Kazuya. "Master, may I please know how that worked?"

"Altering Presence allows you to travel to what is an empty dimension," answered Alnul.

"Empty dimension?"

"It was discovered just as when Altering Presence was invented by the founder of the Order of Life. We had managed technologically replicate it, hence how we were able to send a colony ship here."

"I see."

"I also noticed you moved just before you went to the empty dimension."

"Y… You did?" asked Kazuya with surprise.

"I can tell. Don't worry, just practice some more and you'll be able to do it without moving at all. I was like that when I was your age. In any case, you're training is over. Let's head back inside for dinner, then you can leave at any time starting tomorrow."

* * *

That following day, Kazuya is already packed and ready to leave. Alnul is ready to see him off.

What Kazuya is wearing is a beige shirt with a v-cut that has a long lace tied together in a cross and white-colored sleeves. He wears pants that are colored white and shoes that are black.

"Master, before I leave, can I ask you a question?" asked Kazuya.

"What might that be?" asked Alnul.

"Who is the Warrior of Light Born from Darkness?"

"That… isn't my place to say. You as the Warrior of Darkness Born from Light must do that yourself."

"I see. Thank you, Master."

"Before you go, there's something I must give you."

Alnul then summons his entire right arm. In an instant, a sheathed iaito appears.

"A gift," says Alnul as he offers the iaito to Kazuya.

"A sword?" asked Kazuya.

"Not just any sword. It was Shamin's. I'm not sure if she would have wanted to have it, but take it. Use it to carve your true path."

"I will. Thank you, Master."

"Now then, as to where to go now, there's an exit fifty kilometers west of here. I'm suggesting this because it will be a problem if you go back to Japan. I've just discovered this alternate entrance and exit myself, so I don't exactly know where the adjacent cave is located in. I do know that it should be somewhere not occupied by the Nova. You'll need a ride there so please wait a minute."

Alnul then makes a sound Kazuya is surprised to hear. After a minute, a _Gallimimus_ dinosaur appears with a riding harness.

"You… You just called out to this dinosaur.?" asked a shocked Kazuya,

"I just did," replied Alnul. "As I have told you, the last of every dinosaur in this planet lives here. They cannot go up to the surface because of incompatible attributes in surviving present-day Earth. This _Gallimimus_ here is my pet. Go on, pet him. He won't harm you."

Kazuya does as Alnul asks and approaches the _Gallimimus._ After he reaches its head, he puts his right hand on to of it. The dinosaur responds positively by grinding its head on Kazuya's hand.

"See?" asked Alnul. "He knows where to go."

"Got it," says Kazuya. "Thank you."

"Be careful. The _Gallimimus_ is a fast dinosaur. You best hold on as you ride him."

"Got it. Farewell, and thank you for everything, Master."

Kazuya loads his duffel bag and the iaito into the _Gallimimus_. He then gets on the _Gallimimus'_ harness. The dinosaur rushes towards the directions that it had been told to go.

* * *

June 15, 2070 (22:19, UTC+09:00)

Isa, Kagoshima Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan

Manegahira

* * *

"After a perilous ride that lasted two hours, I made it to the second exit," says Kazuya as he finishes the story in the present. "I found myself in Nagarze, Tibet. Rana's hometown."

"Wait, that was you?" asked Rana.

"You were there?" asked Kazuya.

"I went there for some soul-searching. I didn't know that was you with the Japanese sword. You traveled so fast I lost track of you."

"Sorry about that, Rana."

"Can I please interrupt your conversation to ask something?" asked Ganessa.

"What is it?" replied Kazuya.

"You lived amongst dinosaurs for four years?"

"Yes, I did. I even fought a _Tyrannosaurus rex_ with my bare hands for training."

Everyone else is left speechless by what Kazuya had just said.

"Don't worry, that was a joke," says Kazuya to diffuse their bafflement. "I was told by Master Alnul to leave the dinosaurs alone while I lived there. In any case, I apologized to have lied to all of you."

"It's no problem, Kazuya," says Shinji. "Bruce and I lied to others to protect ourselves."

"Well then, can I ask this out of you?" Kazuya asks with great concern. "Will you help me fight the Nova and save Satella-senpai?"

Everyone else is surprised by the way Kazuya asked. Arthur and Ganessa, in particular, feel ashamed for treating Kazuya with suspicion.

"Very well, we'll fight with you," says Arthur.

"Everyone… " Kazuya says without saying anything else.

"You saved my life, as well as Arthur's," says Ganessa. "Besides, now that I know what really happened, I want to save Satellizer myself."

"Same here," says Rana. "All I wanted to do was to see you again."

"Shall we turn in for the night then?" asked Shinji.

"I'll do so first," says Bruce. "Good night everybody."

"I'll take care of the fire," says Kazuya.

While Kazuya puts out their campfire, Arthur, Ganessa, Rana, Bruce, and Shinji proceed to sleep. Kazuya then joins them and he looks at the evening sky before sleeping.

 _Satella-senpai, I will save you._

* * *

Translations

Oya-san (Japanese) – a formal term for "old man"

Gokudo (Japanese) – "the extreme path", a synonym for the Yakuza used by its members amongst themselves

Seoi Nage (Japanese) – "shoulder throw", a move in Judo

Zan'ei (Japanese) – "Cutting Shadow"

 _Gallimimus_ (Latin) – "chicken mimic"

 _Tyrannosaurus_ (Latin) – "tyrant lizard"

 _Rex_ (Latin) – "king"

* * *

A/N:

The idea of Shinto and West Genetics being in the Izu Peninsula located in Shizuoka Prefecture is made up by me. I based placing Shinto and West Genetics in the Izu Peninsula on Volume 5, Chapter 3 of the manga, where the 10th Nova Clash started with a Type-S Nova appearing in Yokohama Beach, which should be between West Genetics and East Genetics.

Banul defeating Satellizer with a couple of kicks is similar to how the first Shenmue started where Lan Di defeats Iwao Hazuki with the same kicks.

That paragraph on Chiffon's backstory is a summary of Volume 7 of Freezing Zero.

For Banul's eyes, remember me describing his eyes as blue in the previous chapter? Well, his eyes are different here per the flashback because he was commanding Nova in there where in the previous chapter, he wasn't.

Life forces are basically ki you're familiar with from various anime and video games. The whole backstory involving the First Empire, as well as the Nova being weapons made by them, are of my invention. While the Nova here are the stand-ins for the Inbit from Genesis Climber MOSPEADA, their backstory here is based on the Zentraedi from The Super Dimension Fortress Macross and the Mu from Super Dimension Century Orguss.

As to why I made Freezing a weakened attempt to harness life forces, that's the meat and potatoes of this fic. A major shakeup as to how the Freezing franchise works.

I also invented the idea that Kazuya and Kazuha frequented the orphanage owned by Ono, as well as the latter having taken in Noelle and Satellizer. Likewise with Kazuya and Satellizer meeting there and amnesia induced by manipulating life forces.

The technique Ono used on Kazuya is the Seoi Nage, which is a standard Judo throw.

The relationship between Kazuya and Ono is based on the relationship between Kazuma Kiryu and Shintaro Kazama from the Ryu ga Gotoku/Yakuza series.

The first video file Kazuya had to watch is from Volume 3, Chapter 3 of the manga.

Why exactly do Zan'ei and his men talk in Shakespearean English until Zan'ei talked in normal English to Kazuya? Well, actually, they're using Japanese with English being seen here for the benefit of the readers. Shakespearean English is a stand-in for archaic Japanese, which is fitting for people who are centuries old.

The paragraphs dedicated to explaining what happened to Kazuya's parents are from Volumes 27 and 28 of the manga.

Alnul's explanation behind Altering Presence/Illusion Turn is a shorter version of the explanation of the technique by Gengo back in Volume 26, Chapter 4 of the manga, except that there's no mention of traveling into multiple dimensions.

I believe that's it for this chapter. I apologize for the long wait. In any case, look forward to the next one.


	7. Chapter 7

Kikou Kyuuseishu Gungel

(Armored Saviour Gungel)

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters in Freezing, nor the initial setting.

* * *

Chapter 7: Concert Caper

* * *

June 16, 2070 (11:20, UTC+09:00)

Isa, Kagoshima Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan

* * *

A lone truck is going to Isa. It is owned by a local beverage company. In its path are the Tactical Suits TS-01 Guncycle and a BTS-01 Vagabond.

The driver, a man wearing a blue cap, white tank top, and black pants sees the Tactical Suits and stops his trucks. Unbeknownst to him, he is being watched.

The driver then gets off his truck and proceeds to look at the Tactical Suits. He isn't aware someone is behind him.

"What are the-"

The driver is then hit in the rear of his neck, knocking him unconscious. Doing so is Rana Linchen.

"Coast is clear," says Rana.

Coming out of the forest are Arthur Crypton, Ganessa Roland, and Bruce Sykes.

Arthur then receives a call from his communicator.

"Would that be Kazuya-kun?" asked Rana.

"Most likely," answered Arthur. "Why is he contacting us? Shouldn't he be busy preparing for Shinji's concert?"

Arthur then responds to his communicator. He finds Kazuya on the other end of the communicator.

"Kazuya, why are you contacting us? What about Shinji's concert?"

"He's got that handled," replied Kazuya. "I'm just in a portable toilet in the park where the concert will be held. Intercepted the truck?"

"We have."

"Can you please show me the driver?"

"S… Sure."

Bruce then gives Arthur the unconscious driver. The latter then shows the driver's face to Kazuya.

"Hang on. I got an ability that will help."

On his end, Kazuya then opens his right hand. On Arthur, Ganessa, Rana, and Bruce's end, energy fills the unconscious driver, making him stand up, but not restoring his consciousness. Everyone else looks on with amazement.

"What… are you doing?" asked Arthur.

"He's under my control," replied Kazuya. "You'll need that driver to go into Isa. I've already placed some commands into his head. Get him back in the driver's seat and he'll do the rest."

"Okay," says Arthur. 'I'll get inside the cargo area."

"Good. Remember, use the entire time allotted for the concert to get inside the police station and steal enough Infinium for our vehicles while delivering the cargo. I'll update on what's going on on my end."

"Got it. By the way, how did you know about this delivery?"

"Read the mind of a policeman."

"I see. Good luck."

"You too," says Kazuya as he ends contact.

"I'll wait in the Humheeve," says Bruce.

"Acknowledged," replied Arthur.

As Bruce leaves, Arthur puts the unconscious driver back in the driver's seat. As he gets inside the truck's cargo area, the commands Kazuya placed inside the driver activate, with the driver starting up the truck's engines and getting it moving.

* * *

June 16, 2070 (11:30, UTC+09:00)

Isa, Kagoshima Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan

Memorial Park

* * *

The Memorial Park is a local landmark of Isa's. Its name derives from a large stone memorial found in the center of the park. Whenever an event is held, food stands are provided and manned by the locals. This park has been chosen for Shinji's concert in Isa, and naturally, food stands were established.

Kazuya, in his disguise, comes out of the portable toilet. He then goes to a changing station made for the performers. It has two rooms, with one for each gender. Kazuya then approaches the female room and knocks as Shinji, currently being Shoko, is inside.

"Shoko, are you ready?" asks Kazuya.

"Coming," replied Shinji as he uses his Shoko voice.

"Shoko" then opens the door. "She" is wearing a brasserie and corset underneath a jacket as all three are colored black, a golden scarf, and black spandex pants.

"Please come in," says Shinji as Shoko.

Kazuya proceeds inside. Shinji closes the door.

"Have the others made it inside yet?"

"They should be in the city right about now. I'll go assist with the theft, while you just perform"

"Got it."

"Before that, I need to do this."

Kazuya then straightens his right arm while opening its hand. He uses his left hand to hold the right arm. As he does, energy is being concentrated in the form of another Kazuya in his disguise. Shinji looks on with curiosity.

"He'll watch over you throughout the concert while I'm backing Arthur and the others."

"Okay."

Kazuya then vanishes by using Altering Presence. At the same time, the doppelganger he made comes out of the female changing room. Shinji as Shoko then comes out.

"Shoko" then comes to the middle of the stage laid out for the concert. Those attending cheer as "she" makes it.

* * *

June 16, 2070 (11:36, UTC+09:00)

Isa, Kagoshima Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan

Isa Police Station

* * *

The truck makes it to the police station. At the same time, Kazuya had already infiltrated the station and has acquired a disguise for himself as a policeman in sunglasses.

Another policeman sees the truck. He then approaches it and after getting close knocks on the driver's seat's window. The driver responds per the command Kazuya placed on him.

"Your orders are here," says the driver.

"I see, thank you," says the policeman. "Mind if we take a look at the cargo."

"You may," replied the driver.

The policeman faces Kazuya, moving his neck as a way to tell Kazuya to check the cargo.

Kazuya then opens the cargo area's door. All he sees are the crates full of soft drinks.

"Nothing out of the ordinary here," says Kazuya in a deep voice.

"You may proceed," says the other policeman. "Park in the rear."

"Thank you," says the driver.

The truck proceeds inside the station. Kazuya follows.

As the truck is parked in the middle of the station, the driver then falls unconscious. Kazuya makes it and opens the cargo area's door. Arthur, Ganessa and Rana come out, surprised that Kazuya, whom they just assume is a policeman, found them.

"Calm yourselves," Kazuya says as he removes his sunglasses. "It's me."

"It's you, Kazuya," says Arthur. "What now and why are you here disguised as a policeman?"

"I left a doppelganger in my place at the Memorial Park," answered Kazuya. "I did so to scout the entire police station to find where the Infinium is stored in."

"Where?" asked Rana.

Kazuya then brings out a Colt Detective Special revolver. This surprises Arthur, Ganessa, and Rana.

"You three are under arrest," says Kazuya in his deep voice.

Two other policemen approach the truck. One of them has an obese body while the other is bespectacled.

"What's going on here?" asked the obese policeman.

"I've just caught these three sneaking into the truck to steal our Infinium supplies," answered Kazuya. "May I please have your assistance?"

"Sure," says the bespectacled policeman.

* * *

Inside the main building of the station, Kazuya and the two policemen bring Arthur, Ganessa, and Rana inside. Kazuya then readies his right hand and prepares to crouch using his right knee.

"Hey, what are you do-"

Suddenly, Kazuya already touches the ground with his right hand. Everyone in the station other than Arthur, Ganessa, and Rana are shocked by lightning hitting the ground. The three are baffled by what Kazuya had just done.

"Did you just kill these guys?" asked Ganessa.

"No, they're alive," answered Kazuya.

"I remember now," says Rana. "Kazuya-kun did a trick of this back in Afghanistan four months ago."

"Did it involve turning you in?" asked Ganessa.

"No," says Kazuya as he grabs the keys from the unconscious bespectacled policeman. "We'll discuss that for another time."

Kazuya proceeds to free Arthur, Ganessa, and Rana. He then throws away the key after removing Rana's handcuffs.

"What now?" Arthur asked. "We're in the station. Where's that Infinium deposit?"

"Follow me," says Kazuya as he proceeds ahead.

After five minutes, Kazuya makes it to a room in the police station. Arthur, Ganessa, and Rana manage to catch up to him.

"Is this it?" asked Rana.

"It is," says Kazuya.

Kazuya opens the room's door. Beyond that door is a room full of tanks of Infinium.

"Now then, let's grab what we can carry within thirty minutes and get out," says Kazuya.

"Got it," says Arthur.

"I'll find a cart to use," says Rana.

Kazuya begins to leave the three.

"Kazuya, where are you going?" asked Arthur.

"I need to pick up Shinji as the concert finishes," says Kazuya. "Just get the Infinium. I'll give the truck driver new commands to take us and the Infinium back to where we came from as I leave. I just need to find a policeman's keys for his car to pick up Shinji."

"Fine," says Arthur. "Make sure the both of you leave quickly."

"Got it."

Kazuya and Rana then separate from Arthur and Ganessa, then each other.

* * *

June 16, 2070 (12:55, UTC+09:00)

Isa, Kagoshima Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan

Memorial Park

* * *

Kazuya then makes it back to Memorial Park in a police car. As he gets off, he sees that Shinji as Shoko is leaving the stage with the doppelganger Kazuya made.

"My police escort is here," says "Shoko". "I've just about finished the show."

"It's me," Kazuya says as he removes his sunglasses. "No time to waste. We need to leave now. By now, Arthur, Ganessa-senpai, and Rana have just finished grabbing as much Infinium as they could get and are on our way to the route we took getting inside. We need to meet up with them."

"Got it."

Suddenly, Shinji, Kazuya, and Kazuya's doppelganger are spotted by the horde comprising of "Shoko's" fans.

"We have to go, now!" shouted Kazuya.

Shinji and the doppelganger get inside first. As Kazuya gets in, the fans get closer.

After starting up the engine, Kazuya stomps the pedal and gets the car moving.

In the middle of Isa, Kazuya, and Shinji spot the truck. The doppelganger vanishes at this point. Arthur then sees them, with him and Kazuya opening their respective vehicles' windows.

"How much Infinium did you steal?" loudly asked Kazuya.

"More than what's needed for Kirishima," replied Arthur.

Sirens are then heard behind the two vehicles.

"It looks like the police are conscious again," says Arthur.

"It appears so," replied Kazuya. "Bruce should be waiting for us outside the city. We get of these vehicles, get our Infinium, get on the Humheeve, and get out."

"Got it."

* * *

June 16, 2070 (13:27, UTC+09:00)

Isa, Kagoshima Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan

* * *

Outside Isa, Bruce in his Humheeve waits for Kazuya and the others.

"Where are they?" asked Bruce.

Bruce then sees the truck and the police car Kazuya had stolen.

"Are they being chased?" asked Bruce.

Suddenly, both vehicles stop before Bruce and the Humheeve. Arthur approaches out of the truck first while Ganessa and Rana begin unloading the Infinium. Kazuya and Shinji get off the police car to help Rana and Ganessa.

"Everyone, what was that about?" asked Bruce.

"We improvised during the theft," says Arthur. "We need to go now."

"Got it," says Bruce. "Hurry it up everyone, I'm starting the Humheeve now."

As Kazuya, Shinji, Ganessa, and Rana load the Infinium on the Humheeve, Bruce starts it up with Arthur in the seat beside him. However, the sirens of the police cars get louder, showing that they are getting nearer.

"Hurry it u-"

Bruce is then interrupted by the sight of five flying Humanoid-Type Nova.

"We really need to hurry it up," says Arthur. "We got Nova incoming."

"We're almost there," replied Ganessa.

There are two tanks of Infinium left to load. Ganessa loads one of them, and Kazuya loads the other. Both finish loading them into the Humheeve.

"We're done," says Kazuya.

"Then get in," says Bruce.

Kazuya, Rana, Shinji, andGanessa get on the Humheeve. After starting it up, Bruce gets it moving.

* * *

June 16, 2070 (13:37, UTC+09:00)

Isa, Kagoshima Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan

NearManegahira

* * *

Kazuya and his men make it to the Tactical Suits and his Gungel. Bruce then stops the Humheeve, with everyone getting off. Kazuya and Rana grab an Infinium tank each while Arthur, Ganessa, and Shinji each have a tank for their Tactical Suits.

Arthur, Ganessa, and Shinji get in their Ride Suits. Afterward, they load Infinium into the respective Tactical Suits. After that, they get on and after moving, they go into Suit Mode.

Shinji's Tactical Suit is another Guncycle. However, his is colored white, which is the color for the Free Japanese Army.

"Everyone, we have to buy Kazuya time to have his Gungel fueled up, got it?" asked Shinji.

"Got it," replied Ganessa and Arthur in unison.

The five flying Humanoid-Types spot them and begin firing energy balls. The three Tactical Suit riders evade the shots. Each Humanoid-Type goes after a Tactical Suit rider.

One Humanoid-Type attacks Arthur by flying into the ground and using its claws. Arthur evades and uses his PAR-01, but the Novas evades. It is then killed by Ganessa as she uses her VBR01. Another Humanoid-Type is about to attack Ganessa, but it is killed by Shinji using his Guncycle's PAR-01's grenade launcher.

At the same time, Bruce and Rana finish refueling Kazuya Gungel. Kazuya then gets it flying.

The three remaining Humanoid-Types focus their attention on Kazuya. Kazuya then briefly switches the Gungel to Gear Diver mode, firing missiles from its limbs. The missiles then kill all three Nova.

Arthur, Ganessa, and Shinji have their respective Tactical Suits reverted back to Ride Mode while Bruce and Rana get in the Humheeve. The police sirens are then heard.

"That doesn't sound good," says Arthur.

"We have to go, now," says Ganessa.

The six then race out of Isa. They take no road. While Kazuya can fly using his Gungel, Bruce has the Humheeve lift off for high cliffs, while Arthur, Ganessa, and Shinji rotate between Ride Mode and Suit Mode.

* * *

A/N:

Wow, after having written a long chapter, I may have just written the shortest chapter in this fic by far. In any case, there isn't anything much to say other than this chapter being based on Genesis Climber MOSPEADA episode 5, especially on the heist operation with a concert as a distraction.

Do wait for the next chapter.


	8. Chapter 8

Kikou Kyuuseishu Gungel

(Armored Saviour Gungel)

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters in Freezing, nor the initial setting.

* * *

Chapter 8: Truth of a Hero

* * *

June 21, 2070 (10:20, UTC+09:00)

Kirishima, Kagoshima Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan

Kyushu Expressway

* * *

Almost a week had passed since Kazuya Aoi, Arthur Crypton, Ganessa Roland, Bruce Sykes, Shinji Midorikawa, and Rana Linchen had left Isa with a supply of Infinium. Having returned to the Kyushu Expressway, they have just reached Kirishima, which is to be the extraction point for UNCF survivors upon the failure of the Kyushu phase of Operation Final Push II.

Kirishima is a city located in the middle of the south-central coast of Kyushu. The city is full of many landmarks. One of them is the volcano Mount Kirishima. Half of the city has already been destroyed in the previous attempt to liberate Japan two years ago.

As Kazuya and his comrades begin approaching the city, they see UNCF soldiers from various countries and civilians walking in the same streets, with the soldiers openly displaying their weapons. Other than the UNCF, there are the Japanese Home Army.

While there are civilians in Japan ready to sell out UNCF soldiers to save themselves, some Japanese chose to continue fighting the Nova. These men and women make up the Japanese Home Army. They are supplied by various Yakuza groups like the Eastern Collective, who helped Kazuya escape West Genetics as it fell to the Nova in 2065.

The Japanese Home wear anything as long as they have the sash containing the insignia. For those who can, they wear the uniforms of the old JSDF (Japan Self-Defense Force), which consists of a uniform using the Type III Flecktarn camouflage. Rare amongst Japanese Home Army troops are those who wear the Combat Boots Type 2 and/or the Type 3 Combat Bullet-Proof Vest. Due to how they are being supplied, their weapons vary.

Kazuya then approaches one Japanese Home Army soldier. The Japanese Home Army soldier is bespectacled and is armed with a Vepr assault rifle.

"Good day," says Kazuya. "Might I know where my men and I can find a meal?"

"Sure," says the bespectacled Japanese Home Army soldier. "There's a ramen place straight ahead. You can't miss it."

"Thanks."

Kazuya then leaves the Japanese Home Army soldier and sees Arthur and the others.

"We just found ourselves somewhere to eat."

"What are we waiting for?" asked Rana. "Let's go."

The six proceed ahead.

 _It's really suspicious for soldiers to be all care-free like this,_ Kazuya has in his mind.

* * *

The six then make it to the ramen restaurant they've just heard about. They see that it shares the same atmosphere friendly to UNCF soldiers.

As the six get seated, they are approached by a woman that is a waitress in the restaurant. She has reddish brown hair, light brown eyes, and is wearing a white shirt underneath a gray apron and beige pants.

"Hi there, my name is Ami and I own this place," says the waitress as she introduces herself. "Here are your menus."

Ami then hands a menu to each of the six. As she leaves, they proceed to look for what to order.

* * *

Thirty minutes later, the six finish their meals. Suddenly, a male UNCF soldier from Denmark with brown hair and blue eyes rushes inside the ramen restaurant.

"Everyone, listen, Captain Bishop is back!"

Everyone else in the ramen restaurant hears of the news. One male UNCF soldier from France wakes up with an empty glass beside him wakes up.

"Bishop… ," says Arthur, who immediately runs outside.

As Arthur runs outside, a Humheeve is right outside the ramen restaurant. In it are four UNCF soldiers, with three of them being men and one of them a woman. One is from Australia, one is from the United States, one is from Chile, and one is from Russia. The Chilean soldier and the Russian soldier are wounded.

The Australian soldier is a man in his fifties with brown hair and green eyes. He is wearing a light blue suit and dark blue pants. On his shoulders are epaulets that have each has a light blue line near the edge.

The American soldier is a Chinese-American woman with black hair and blue eyes. She is wearing a Ride Suit.

The Chilean soldier is a male with short black hair and brown eyes. The Russian soldier is a man with a shaved head and blue eyes.

"What happened out there, Captain?" asked the bespectacled Japanese Home Army soldier.

"Our attack on the Infinium warehouse near Yadomedake went bad," answered the Australian soldier. "Carlton's dead."

Joining Arthur are Kazuya and the others.

"Who's that?" asked Rana.

"Stanley Bishop, Group Captain, RAAF (Royal Australian Air Force)," answered Ganessa. He inspired me and Arthur to volunteer as Variable Gear pilots. How did he manage to survive the original Operation Final Push is a really good question."

 _No doubt about it, something's up with this village,_ Kazuya has in his mind.

"In honor of Captain Bishop returning, everything in my place is on the house," says Ami.

Everyone else cheers by what Ami had said.

"Lieutenant, is that you?"

The six hear the question addressed to one of them. They find two people, a boy and a girl, looking at them. They have blond hair and blue eyes and are wearing British RAF (Royal Air Force) uniforms.

"Thomas, Daisy it's you," says Kazuya.

"You know these two?" asked Arthur.

"Thomas and Daisy Mably. They're the scouts I talked about."

"Who are they, Lieutenant?" asked Daisy.

"They're the people I picked up as part of the mission."

"Arthur Crypton."

"Ganessa Roland."

"Shinji Midorikawa."

"Bruce Sykes."

"Rana Linchen."

"Wait a minute, you're that woman whom we ran into a lot back in Hawaii," says Thomas.

"I'm glad you two remembered me," says Rana. "Wait a second, would you two be related to Elizabeth by any chance, would you?"

"You know our sister?" asked Thomas.

"There's hardly anyone from West Genetics who wouldn't," says Ganessa. "However, she's still in hiding."

"I see," says Thomas. "In any case, please follow us. The leader of the Japanese Home Army cell here in Kirishima is looking for you."

Rana and Bruce return to the Humheeve, while Kazuya, Shinji, Arthur, and Ganessa get back to their respective Tactical Suits. They follow the younger Mably siblings, who are using Guncycles.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, Kazuya and his men are taken to what used to be a car rental shop near the bombed out Kagoshima Airport.

Everyone then gets off their respective vehicles.

"We'll inform the commander here that you've arrived," says Daisy. "Please wait for us."

Thomas and Daisy proceed inside while Kazuya and the others wait.

Inside are men operating various communications equipment. One woman is seated in the northmost corner of the entire building. She is twenty years old with reddish brown hair and light brown eyes.

"Ah, you two are back," says the woman seated. "I see you've brought the additional comrades you talked about. Please let them in."

"I'll do that," says Thomas. "Thank you."

Thomas then returns outside.

"You lot may proceed inside."

"Thank you," says Kazuya.

Thomas and Kazuya's group proceed inside. Suddenly, the woman stands up as she sees Kazuya.

"It's you four!" shouted the woman.

"Kaho Hiiragi, is that you?" asked Arthur.

"It is," says the woman identified as Kaho Hiiragi. 'How did you three survive after five years?"

As Kazuya, Arthur, Ganessa, talk to Kaho, Shinji approaches Rana.

"Who's she?" asked Shinji.

"Kaho Hiiragi. First Year Class President in West Genetics five years ago," answered Rana.

"So, why are you lot in Kirishima?" asked Kaho.

"I was ordered here like the Mably siblings to wait for New Eden itself," answered Kazuya. "I was also told to bring survivors with me."

"And I imagine the people with you are those survivors?" asked Kaho.

"Indeed."

"Why are you with New Eden?"

"It's a really long story."

"I've got the time for that."

The next three hours had been spent on Kazuya explaining his story to Kaho. Due to how long the former took in his story, everyone else is seated on the floor.

"So you joined New Eden to rescue the Unto- I mean, Satellizer-senpai?" asked Kaho.

"You could say that," answered Kazuya. "I still have to fight the Nova."

"I see. In any case, you can stay in the old airport hotel. I've already allowed Thomas-kun and Daisy-chan to stay there. They can take you there."

"Hiiragi-san, may I please speak?" asked Shinji.

"What is it, uh-"

"Apologies for the lack of introductions," says Shinji as he opens his right hand. "I'm Shinji Kondou."

"A pleasure to meet you," replied Kaho as she grabs Shinji's hand. "What is it that you wanted to ask?"

"You see, I'm a friend of Shoko Midorikawa."

"You are!?"

"Yes. She's looking for another venue to perform. Think you can allow it."

"Sure."

"Thank you."

* * *

June 21, 2070 (22:00, UTC+09:00)

Kirishima, Kagoshima Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan

Ryonan Junior High School

* * *

That evening, someone has arrived at the old Ryonan Junior High School. It's none other than Arthur himself, who has taken his Guncycle.

Arthur then proceeds inside and finds the UNCF guards in their posts, albeit asleep. He helps himself to come inside.

He then approaches a room that is still lit at night.

 _This must be Captain Bishop's room,_ Arthur has in his mind.

In what is Bishop's room, the Australian UNCF soldier looks at a pendant while on a futon on the floor. It has a picture of himself a decade younger and two women.

One of them is a decade younger than him, has long blonde hair, and green eyes. She is wearing a lavender dress. The other girl appears to be a within the age range from ten to fourteen. She has short hair that is brown like his and green eyes like the other while she wears a white shirt and a blue skirt. It appears the two women are Bishop's wife and daughter.

Bishop then hears Arthur knocking.

"Who is it?" asked Bishop.

"Arthur Crypton, Leftenant, UNCF Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm, HMS _Laing's Nek_. Permission to enter."

"Granted," says Bishop as he gets off his bed.

Arthur and Bishop then see each other. For Arthur, he has both admiration and obedience in his heart.

"What might you want?" asked Bishop.

"I just came to see you, sir," answered Arthur. "If I may ask, are you still planning to attack Shinto?"

"Currently, no," answered Bishop. "You should know how terrifying the Nova can be."

"I see," says Arthur with a saddened look.

"I'm planning on attacking the warehouse in Yadomedake again tomorrow. I could use some volunteers. I would appreciate your aid."

"No need to say anything else, sir," happily replied Arthur. "I'll be happy to help."

"Good. We leave at seven hundred hours tomorrow. Tell no one."

"Got it," says Arthur as he leaves the room.

 _He reminds me of myself when I was his age,_ Bishop has in his mind.

Unbeknownst to both Bishop and Arthur, Kazuya was watching from the window while managing to make sure neither of them saw him. He leaves.

* * *

June 22, 2070 (06:08, UTC+09:00)

Kirishima, Kagoshima Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan

Kyushu Expressway

* * *

The morning had come for Kirishima. Signs across what remained of the city are now announcing that "Shoko Midorikawa" will be coming for a concert.

At the same time, Bishop is leaving the city again for another raid on the Infinium warehouse near Mount Kirishima. With him are Arthur and two other UNCF soldiers; one male soldier from Kenya, and a female soldier from the Philippines. All four are riding in Guncycles.

Unbeknownst to the four, they are being watched. Watching them are Kazuya Aoi and Ganessa Roland.

"Ganessa-senpai, we have to wait until Bishop and his men have left the city," says Kazuya.

"Got it," replied Ganessa. "Arthur sure has gotten himself in trouble because he wanted to be with his hero."

"I've had my suspicions about why Arthur left a note and I followed him to the old junior high school where Bishop is stationed at."

Kazuya then straightens his right arm and opens his right hand. An orb of energy appears in front of him and Ganessa. The orb shows where Bishop and his men are going.

"This orb will help us know where Bishop and his men are going," says Kazuya. "That way, we can know where to follow them."

"Are you sure anyone with Stigmata can't do these things?" asked Ganessa.

"Believe me, there are people who tried because they listened to my story," says Kazuya. "They already had their Baptism."

"How long do we have to wait?"

"An hour at the most."

"Got it."

* * *

June 22, 2070 (06:55, UTC+09:00)

Satsumasendai, Kagoshima Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan

Near Yadomedake

* * *

Yadomedake is a mountain located in the city of Satsumasendai, which is west of Kirishima. Satsumasendai is the merger between the city of Sendai and the towns of Hiwaki, Ikiri, Kedoin, and Togo. Included are the Koshikijima Islands.

Bishop and his men have arrived near Yadomedake. They have parked their Guncycles and are proceeding to the warehouse.

After five minutes, the four have made it to the warehouse. The warehouse is actually a structure that appears to have skin

"This is supposed to be a warehouse?" asked Arthur.

"Indeed," replied Bishop. "This is an example of the Nova's power. In any case, we split into two groups. Crypton, you're with me. Lenku, you're with Ballesteros."

"Got it," replied the male Kenyan soldier Lenku and the female Philippine soldier Ballesteros in unison.

Lenku is a Kenyan male of the Maasai ethnic group with dark brown eyes. Ballesteros is a woman in her thirties with light brown eyes.

Arthur and Bishop head to the left of the old hot spring while Lenku and Ballesteros. The latter two proceed ahead to the hot spring.

"Lenku, please cover me," says Ballesteros.

"Got it," replied Lenku.

As Ballesteros proceeds ahead to the hot spring, a ball of energy hits her, turning her into a skeleton.

"Balles-"

While Lenku attempted to rush to what remained of Ballesteros, he too is killed by another ball of energy. What killed them are two Crab Type-TR Nova.

Both Arthur and Bishop see what had just happened.

"It's a trap!" shouted Bishop.

The two Crabs spot Bishop and Arthur. The former two open fire while the latter two fire as well while retreating.

* * *

Kazuya and Ganessa then arrive in their respective Tactical Suits. However, they hear explosions.

"We're most likely too late," says Kazuya. "We'll split up and look for both Arthur and Bishop."

"Got it," replied Ganessa.

Both Kazuya and Ganessa go in opposite directions.

On Kazuya's end, he sees Bishop. He then parks his Guncycle and follows him.

After Kazuya finds a tree to hide in, he sees a Pandora-Type Nova approaching Bishop. It is carrying a tank of Infinium and gives it to Bishop. The Nova then leaves Bishop.

 _I should have known,_ Kazuya has in his mind. _The only reason soldiers can hide out in Kirishima easily is because Bishop sacrifices them to the Nova._

Kazuya then stands up and begins to confront Bishop.

"So, you sell out soldiers to the Nova," says Kazuya as he confronts Bishop. "I've seen civilians sell out soldiers to save their own skins. Seeing a soldier do it is new."

"WHAT DO YOU KNOW!?" shouted Bishop as he brings out a USP semi-automatic pistol.

"Going to shoot me?" asked Kazuya. "Just try."

Bishop impulsively shoots Kazuya. However, the latter vanished.

"Is that all you got?" asked Kazuya as he suddenly appears behind Bishop. "That was a terrible shot for a hero."

"SHUT UP!"

Bishop fires again, but Kazuya disappears. The latter appears on the former's right side.

"H… How could you do such a feat?" asks a fearful Bishop.

Kazuya then punches Bishop in the face. After he lands on the ground, Bishop is now letting fear consume him.

"Now you're scared?" asked Kazuya. "What about all those soldiers you sold out the Nova? What about Arthur? That man sees you as a hero and yet you feed him to the Nova?"

"Kazuya!" shouted Arthur and Ganessa as they arrive.

"Arthur, you're alive," says Kazuya.

"Kazuya, what happened here?" asked Arthur.

Kazuya then opens his right hand and energy comes forth, summoning a dome that surrounds all four of them. A simulation of what happened earlier is shown, starting with Bishop being given that tank of Infinium by the Pandora-Type.

"W… What is this?" asked Arthur.

"Your hero has been selling out soldiers like you to the Nova," answered Kazuya. "Don't look at me. Look at his guilty face and body language."

Kazuya points to Bishop. The latter is now suffering the recoil of what he had been doing. Both Arthur and Ganessa are horrified by what Bishop had done. At the same time, the dome vanishes.

"W… Why did you do such a thing?" asked a crestfallen Arthur.

"You kids wouldn't the horror of fighting the Nova," weakly says Bishop.

"You can't just come up with an excuse like that," says Kazuya. "I may have lied about who I really am to get this far, but I at least feel guilty about what I've done."

Suddenly, an explosion occurs behind the four. Kazuya, Arthur, and Ganessa turn to see that three Crab Type-TR Nova have appeared.

"We have to get back to our Tactical Suits," says Kazuya.

"Got it," replied Arthur and Ganessa in unison.

Kazuya makes it back to his Guncycle and after switching to Suit Mode fends off the Crabs while Arthur and Ganessa try to find their Tactical Suits. Bishop looks on with guilt.

 _What have I been doing all this time?_ Bishop asks himself in his mind. _These kids can fight the Nova while I'm just here._

Just as Kazuya kills two Crabs, two more and three flying Humanoid-Type Nova appear. Arthur and Ganessa then arrive in their respective Tactical Suits.

"Good, you two are here," says Kazuya. "Could you please keep them busy while I call in the Gungel?"

"Sure," replied Arthur.

Kazuya reverts back to Ride Mode and races elsewhere to contact for his Gungel. Arthur and Ganessa proceed to fend off the remaining Nova.

While Ganessa is fighting one Crab, Arthur is fending off the two additional Crabs. Arthur manages to kill one Crab but the other one grabs him.

"Arthur!" shouted Ganessa as she sees Arthur getting grabbed.

Suddenly, Bishop appears in his Guncycle and kills the Crab that was fighting Ganessa. He then switches to Suit Mode and uses his PAR-01 to save Arthur. Arthur then kills the Crab. Afterward, Bishop helps Arthur back on his feet.

"Captain… Why did you save us?" asked Arthur.

"Your determination to fight had shown me what I've really done," says Bishop. "Allow me to help."

"Sure," says Arthur.

"I need you two to cover me while I grab that Infinium tank. I will kill the two remaining Nova with it."

"Got it," replied Arthur and Ganessa in unison.

As Arthur and Ganessa open fire on the flying Humanoid-Types, Bishop grabs the Infinium tank he was given earlier.

"I've got the Infinium tank!" shouted Bishop. "Please fall back you two. Lure them to me and I'll use the tank."

Both Arthur and Ganessa do as Bishop asked. Bishop then throws the Infinium tank up into the air and into the direction of the Humanoid-Type. Bishop then uses the PAR-01 to shoot the tank. As the tank is shot, the resulting explosion kills the Humanoid-Type. A shard of shrapnel then hits Bishop in his heart. He catches on to it while Arthur and Ganessa are unaware.

The two flying Humanoid-Types approach the three. One is then killed by a volley of missiles that came from Kazuya and his Gungel, which has arrived. Ganessa then kills the other one with her VBR01's rifle grenade.

As Kazuya lands and gets off his Gungel, Arthur and Ganessa approach Bishop.

"Sir, that was amazing," says Arthur.

"Thank y-"

Before Bishop finishes thanking Arthur, he collapses into the ground. Kazuya then approaches the three.

Arthur and Ganessa then find to their horror that Bishop was hit with shrapnel.

"Sir, you're wounded!" exclaimed Arthur. "Was it because of that stunt just now?"

"You're… correct," says Bishop. "Listen, I'm… sorry for… what I did… to you… "

"That doesn't matter," says Arthur. "You saved me. Please hang in there!"

"Thank you… " incompletely says Bishop. "It… was good to fight… like this… Good bye."

Bishop then closes his eyes. It is clear that he is dead now. Arthur then stands up and salutes him.

Suddenly, Hikoboshi comes out of the Gungel's cockpit and rushes to Kazuya.

"Master Kazuya, you have a distress call from Miss Hiiragi," says Hikoboshi.

"Please patch it through," says Kazuya.

"Aoi-kun, please return to the city," says Kaho through Hikoboshi. "A legion of Nova are coming from the west."

Kazuya then faces Arthur and Ganessa.

"I'm sorry about what happened to Captain Bishop," says Kazuya. 'However, we can't let his death be in vain. We have to go back to Kirishima and help."

"Got it," says Arthur and Ganessa in unison.

As everyone gets back to their respective vehicles, they race back to Kirishima.

* * *

Translations:

Kondou (Japanese) – kanji for "nearby" and "Wisteria"

* * *

A/N:

The whole chapter is based on Genesis Climber MOSPEADA episode 8: Jonathan's Elegy, right down to a village accommodating soldiers to the commanding officer offering soldiers as sacrifices to the invading aliens.

As to why Arthur addressed himself as "Leftenant" rather than "Lieutenant", it's because the two terms originate from the combination of the Latin words "locum (in place of)" and "teneris (holding)", so the complete word means "holding in the place of". "Lieutenant" means the same thing in French, and while it is used in the English language, in the United Kingdom, "lieu" sounded like "loo", a slang term for the toilet. For that reason, "lieutenant" became "leftenant".

Please wait for the next chapter.


	9. Chapter 9

Kikou Kyuuseishu Gungel

(Armored Saviour Gungel)

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters in Freezing, nor the initial setting.

* * *

Chapter 9: Ship of Hope

* * *

June 22, 2070 (08:50, UTC+09:00)

Kirishima, Kagoshima Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan

Kirishima Kokusai Ongaku Hall

* * *

The Kirishima Kokusai Ongaku Hall is a concert hall that first opened in 1994 and is located in the Makizonocho Takichiho neighborhood, which is near Mount Kirishima. It is built in the middle of a park to be amongst nature. It has the nickname "Miyama Conseru".

This place is where "Shoko Midorikawa" is having "her" concert as UNCF and Japanese Home Army soldiers, as well as civilians, fill the seats. "Shoko" is wearing a purple cocktail dress and brown slippers.

The lyrics in the song "Shoko" is singing may appear sad to one listener. Despite that, the audience is enjoying the song.

Watching the concert are Bruce, Rana, Kaho, Thomas, and Daisy. Rana begins to leave.

"Rana, what's wrong?" asked Bruce as he noticed Rana leaving.

"Nothing," silently replied Rana. "I just need air."

Rana then steps outside. It appeared that Shinji's song gave her sad memories.

 _Please… return... the three of us… to Kunlun's arms…_

Rana then sees objects flying. She then grabs Shinji's Guncycle and leaves the concert hall.

After ten minutes, Rana arrives at an old junior high school. She then sees that the flying objects are Nova.

"I have to get back," says Rana.

* * *

Rana then returns to Kirishima Kokusai Ongaku Hall. She finds Kaho, Bruce, and the younger Mably siblings waiting for her.

"Where were you?" asked Bruce.

"I found Nova coming towards the city," answered Rana.

"What!?" asked Kaho.

"Uh… I think Rana's right," says Thomas while he uses a pair of binoculars.

"Let me see," says Kaho as she grabs the binoculars from Thomas and takes a look for herself. She sees ten flying Humanoid-Types coming.

"Damn," says Kaho as she stops using the binoculars. "Everyone, get to your stations! There are Nova coming!"

* * *

June 22, 2070 (09:35, UTC+09:00)

Satsumasendai, Kagoshima Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan

Near Yadomedake

* * *

Inside the cockpit of Kazuya Aoi's Gungel is Hikoboshi. He sees that Kaho is trying to contact Kazuya.

"It's from Miss Hiiragi," says Hikoboshi. "I must tell Master Kazuya."

Hikoboshi then gets out of the Gungel's cockpit and races to Kazuya.

"Master Kazuya, you have a distress call from Miss Hiiragi," says Hikoboshi.

"Please patch it through," says Kazuya.

"Aoi-kun, please return to the city," says Kaho through Hikoboshi. "A legion of Nova are coming from the west."

Kazuya then faces Arthur and Ganessa.

"I'm sorry about what happened to Captain Bishop," says Kazuya. 'However, we can't let his death be in vain. We have to go back to Kirishima and help."

"Got it," says Arthur and Ganessa in unison.

As everyone gets back to their respective vehicles, they race back to Kirishima. While they do, they see the city under attack. In the Gungel, Kazuya begins to contact New Eden.

"New Eden, this is McAllister," says Kazuya. "Do you read, over?"

"We read you," says a Caucasian woman with blonde hair and green eyes.

"Captain McAllister, I've reached Kirishima," says Kazuya. "However, the city's under attack."

"I can tell," replied the woman with the surname "McAllister". "I've already sent Alpha Flight to back you up. Please hold out for fifteen minutes."

"Got it."

Both Kazuya and McAllister break contact. The former then contacts Arthur.

"Kazuya, what is it?" asked Arthur.

"Arthur, can you and Ganessa-senpai please go to Kaho and help her with whatever she needs? The UNCF troops here aren't going to last."

"Got it," says Arthur as he breaks contact.

Kazuya then switches the frequency to that of Kaho's.

"Kaho, it's Kazuya. Do you read?"

"Kaho here. What is it?"

"I've sent Arthur and Ganessa-senpai to help you. I'll do what I can in the air."

"What happened to Captain Bishop?"

"He's dead. I'm sorry."

"I see," weakly says Kaho. "In any case, please help the UNCF troops. I'm getting something ready and I need Thomas-kun and Daisy-chan's help."

"Got it."

Both Kazuya and Kaho break contact.

* * *

Both Thomas and Daisy make it back to the old car rental shop near Kagoshima airport. However, they see the Japanese Home Army troops leaving. Arthur gets off to ask one of them.

"Excuse me, but where's your commander?" asked Arthur to one male Japanese Home Army soldier.

"The commander went to the airport plant," answered the male Japanese Home Army soldier. "We need to get to the coast and help with evacuating the civilians."

"I see," says Arthur.

Arthur returns to his Guncycle. After that, heGanessa leave.

* * *

June 22, 2070 (09:44, UTC+09:00)

Kirishima, Kagoshima Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan

Kagoshima Airport Plant

* * *

The Kagoshima Airport Plant is an industrial area located near Kagoshima Airport. It is owned by a manufacturing company named Ota Industries. The airport plant was abandoned two years ago.

Arthur and Ganessa make it to the airport plant. After getting off their respective Tactical Suits, they proceed inside as they find Kaho.

"There you are," says Arthur as he finds Kaho. "Kazuya told us to help out in any way we can."

"Daisy-chan spotted some Crabs," replied Kaho. "Could you please buy time?"

"Leave it to us," replied Ganessa.

"Thanks."

The three then separate, with Arthur and Ganessa returning to their respective Tactical Suits. After starting them up, Arthur and Ganessa leave the airport plant.

Arthur and Ganessa then see two Crab Type-TR Nova approaching the airport plant. Immediately, the two go towards the Nova and switch to Suit Mode.

As the two open fire, the Type-TRs use Accel Turn to evade the shots. One begins to resort to melee combat to deal with Arthur.

Ganessa evades the melee attack of one Crab and jumps over it. She then grabs a knife and stabs the "controller", killing it. She then switches her VBR01 to its rifle grenade and fires it on the one fighting Arthur, killing it.

"Thanks," says Arthur.

"Don't thank me yet, we have more incoming," says Ganessa.

The two then see five more Crabs. Suddenly, all five are killed by four warheads while one is killed by machine gun fire.

Arthur and Ganessa turn to see that a Schleuder Tactical Armor just saved them.

"Consider that payback for helping us," says Kaho as she contacts Arthur.

"You're piloting that thing?" asked Arthur. "Who are your co-pilots?"

"That will be me and Daisy," says Thomas as he contacts Arthur. "We have to help the rest of the civilians here evacuate."

"Got it," replied Arthur and Ganessa in unison.

* * *

In the air, Kazuya is dealing with the flying Humanoid-Types. He had already killed two.

Kazuya sees one and fires his Gungel's nose machine guns, but the Humanoid-Type evades it. He then sees another one get close, in which he flies away from it.

Kazuya then fires two missiles at the Humanoid-Type, killing it.

"I can't waste my missiles like this," says Kazuya. "Where are-"

"Hey there, Kazuya. Miss us!" shouted a man on Kazuya's monitor.

The man contacting Kazuya has blond hair that is short by spiky and green eyes.

"Pavel, you made it," says Kazuya.

"Leave the air to us," says the man named Pavel. "Help the civilians."

"Thanks."

Kazuya then descends while more Gungels arrive and fight the remaining Humanoid-Types.

Kazuya then sees a UNCF Slinger and two Japanese Home Army soldiers desperately holding off Crabs. He destroys the Crabs with the Gungel's nose machine guns.

"Thanks for the assist," says a female UNCF pilot, presumed to be the Slinger's pilot.

"Help the others," says Kazuya.

"Got it," says the UNCF soldier as she ends contact.

Suddenly, the communicator on Kazuya's Gungel is receiving a transmission.

"Kazuya, are you there?" asked Kaho's voice.

Kazuya responds to Kaho's call by switching to her frequency.

"Kaho, what is it?" asked Kazuya.

"Could you please cover us as we get to the harbor? Thomas-kun and Daisy-chan are piloting a Schleuder with me."

"I see. I'll do what I can. Where are you?"

"At the old airport."

"On my way."

* * *

Kazuya then returns to Kagoshima Airport. He sees the Scheluder used by Kaho, Thomas, and Daisy. The Schleuder is currently down as it has a clamp in its rear already positioned.

"Kaho, I've just about made it," replied Kazuya.

"Good," responded Kaho. "I've got another horde of ground Nova approaching the city. They might attack us. Could you please hold them off?"

"I'll do it."

"Master Kazuya, I've got Type-TR Nova approaching the Schleuder used by Miss Hiiragi," says Hikoboshi.

"Intercepting."

Kazuya then sees eight Crabs about to attack the Scheleuder. Kazuya starts by firing his Gungel's machine guns, killing two. He then switches to Gear Soldier mode and uses the Gungel's rifle and kills three Crabs. Kazuya reverts the Gungel back to Gear Fighter mode as the remaining Crabs return fire. He switches to Gear Soldier mode and fires missiles from the legs, killing the remaining three Crabs.

"Master Kazuya, I'm reading another Nova incoming, but it's something that isn'-"

Suddenly, Hikoboshi is interrupted by a roar loud for Kazuya to hear from his cockpit is heard. Kazuya turns to see that a Nova type never seen before is approaching.

The new type of Nova resembles that of a lobster. Like the Crab Type-TR Novas, it is controlled by a "female body".

"Wait a minute, that skin pattern, it looks like that Nova structure back in Satsumasendai," says Kazuya. "Kaho, are you seeing this too?"

"I am," replied Kaho. "What are you going to do?"

"Listen Kaho, I need you, Thomas, and Daisy to head straight for the harbor. I'll buy time."

"But what about you?"

"Please just go. I can take care of this."

"Got it."

The Schleuder stands up, with its clamp no longer on the ground. It begins to move. Kazuya then heads straight for the new type of Nova approaching Kirishima.

"Hikoboshi, how many missiles do I have left?" asked Kazuya.

"Unfortunately, four," answered Hikoboshi.

"That's just great."

Kazuya then races towards the new type of Nova. However, the latter begins firing spike-based projectiles that look as if they are made of human bone calcium. Kazuya dodges them and has the Gungel turn into Gear Soldier Mode.

Kazuya attempts to fire at the Nova using the Gungel's rifle. However, the rounds do not penetrate the Nova as it has something defending it that can't be seen.

* * *

Meanwhile, Kaho, Thomas, and Daisy arrive at what used to be an old dock for small boats. Now, it is being used to evacuate the remaining citizens of Kirishima. Guarding it are what remain of the UNCF garrison and the Japanese Home Army.

The three Schleuder pilots get off the Tactical Gear and find Arthur, Ganessa, Rana, Bruce, and Shinji.

"Where's Kazuya-kun?" asked Rana.

"He's still holding off the Nova," answered Kaho.

"Commander," says a female Japanese Home Army soldier. "You made it."

"What is it?" asked Kaho.

"The evacuation is going smoothly," replied the Japanese Home Army soldier. "However, we can't take our heavy equipment with us."

"Nova incoming!" shouted a male Japanese Home Army soldier.

Everyone sees more Nova coming from the east. They comprise of fifty flying Humanoid-Types and fifty Crabs.

"Is… this… it?" weakly asked Kaho.

Suddenly, missiles kill half of the Humanoid-Types and the Crabs are being bombarded.

"It seems help has arrived," says Shinji.

A ship that is flying appears firing all kinds of weapons. The ship is actually three ships combined into one. The middle ship is one that is never seen before as it hosts a city inside a dome. It is between two aircraft carriers that appear to be from the Second World War.

The ship appears to have turrets similar to battleships from the Second World War. There are six turrets in total, with three on each side. One turret each is found on the two carriers. The turrets have a diameter of forty-six centimeters.

"That's New Eden!" shouted Daisy. "We're saved!"

Everyone cheers upon what Daisy had said. Hope had come, with more of it coming as the ship named New Eden lands in the middle of Kagoshima Bay.

* * *

Meanwhile, Kazuya is still engaged with the new Nova type.

"Aoi, are you there?" asked McAllister as she is contacting Kazuya through his Gungel's communicator.

"Captain, is that you?" asked Kazuya. "Have you arrived?"

"We have," replied McAllister. "We've also rescued those attempting to flee."

"That's all in good, but I've got a problem here."

"I can tell. Dr. Burton has just informed of a weakness to that new Nova type."

"Please tell me quickly. I can't dodge these projectiles all day here."

"That Nova type can only be harmed by a large amount of firepower. How many missiles do you have left?'

"Four."

"I need you to use three of them. We'll fire a canister loaded with the adhesive. After that, we'll fire one of the turrets, and in the midst of that, use your last missile."

"Got it."

After evading another spike, Kazuya brings out the Gungel's legs and fires three out of his last four missiles. As the missiles don't hit the Nova, a hole appears, appearing as if an invisible shield had been discovered.

New Eden then fires what appears to be a missile. The missile releases what appears to be a small canister into the hole before it disappears.

The canister then releases the adhesive needed for solid projectiles to harm Nova.

* * *

The bridge of New Eden is manned by eight people; five of them women and three of them women. Other than the captain of the ship, there is the executive officer, three operators, and three others given special roles for the ship. In the middle of the bridge is a table.

The captain is Siobhan McAllister. She is a twenty-eight-year-old woman from the United States of America of Irish descent.

The ship's executive officer is Maurice Normandeau. He is a thirty-five-year-old Caucasian male from France with black hair and blue eyes. He is in charge of directing orders to those using the built-in weapons of New Eden.

Other than Tania Cronje, who is from South Africa, there is Albert Curtis from the United States and Jami Balaji from India. Albert is a twenty-three-year-old Caucasian male with brown hair and hazel eyes. Jami is a nineteen-year-old woman with long black hair and gray eyes.

Beside Albert is none other than Dr. Sandra Burton herself, who discovered the very weapons used in the counterattack against the Nova starting from 2066. She has long black hair and purple eyes. Although she travels the world to dispense her knowledge on anti-Nova weaponry, she associates herself with New Eden.

Beside Maurice are two former East Genetics students and members of Platoon 13, a special unit of Pandoras and Limiters organized by Gengo Aoi five years ago. Their names are Cassie Lockheart and Kyoichi Minase.

Cassie Lockheart is from the United States. She is a twenty-two-year-old woman from the United States with long green hair and brown eyes. Back in East Genetics, she was known as the "Godspeed of the East" for her usage of Accel Turn. Currently, she's New Eden's tactical coordinator, which is to relay orders to all Tactical Gear units on board.

Kyoichi Minase is a twenty-one-year-old Japanese man with brown hair and blue eyes. He is the ship's navigator.

"Captain, adhesive poured on Nova," says Albert.

"Good," replied Siobhan. "Maurice, please order Turret 1 to open fire on the Nova. We need to assist Aoi with this."

"Roger that, ma'am," replied Maurice. "Turret 1, prepare to fire on the Nova sighted west."

The turret found on the starboard side of the middle ship beside the bow is then aimed at the Nova Kazuya is fighting. The three guns of the turret are then calibrated towards the target.

"Now then, Turret 1, fire!" shouted Maurice.

The turret then fires at the Nova. What it fires are beams of energy. The energy beams create another hole that is bigger in the Nova's shield.

* * *

Kazuya then sees the hole made by New Eden. He then flies toward the Nova and after turning into Gear Soldier mode and straightening the Gungel's right arm, Kazuya fires the last missile he had left.

The missile goes directly towards the Nova as the shield recovers. This doesn't do any good for the Nova as the missile reaches the "female body". The missile detonates, killing the "female body", and by extension, the Nova.

"Aoi, please return to the ship. I can tell you're out of ammo," says Siobhan. "Also, we've al-"

Suddenly, an energy beam almost hits Kazuya's Gungel. Kazuya had managed to evade it.

"What was that?" asked Siobhan.

"I think I know," answered Kazuya.

Kazuya then find that the same machine that he encountered back in Isa has joined the battle.

"Kazuya, you there?" asked Pavel as he contacts Kazuya.

"Pavel," says Kazuya.

"Get back to the ship. I'll handle this one. Janet and the others are still dealing with the remaining Humanoid-Types."

"Thanks."

Pavel's Gungel then does battle with the machine Kazuya knows of while he returns to New Eden.

* * *

June 22, 2070 (11:07, UTC+09:00)

Kagoshima Bay

New Eden

* * *

Kazuya then lands his Gungel on one of the carriers attached to New Eden. The Gungel is then taken to the hangar bay by a lift. He then gets off the Variable Gear. The foremen then approach it.

"Please get it reloaded," asks Kazuya.

"Roger that," replied one foreman.

Kazuya then grabs his Guncycle from the Gungel. After starting it up, he gets it moving.

The city in the middle ship inside consists of three sections. One section is the rear end of the ship, another section is the middle of the ship, and the third section, located in front of the bow, is where major government offices are located.

The rear end of the middle ship hosts two neighborhoods. One is where most of the city's population live in while the other neighborhood is where farms to provide food for the city are located in.

The middle section of the ship hosts various businesses. In its middle are the military facilities. It hosts two tunnels, with each one going to the two carriers. Kazuya comes out from one of them.

The section near the bow contains government offices. It has what appears to be a palace that wouldn't be out of place in 18th Century Europe.

Kazuya then stops his Gungel in a structure that itself is the very middle of the entire ship. It is surrounded by every other military facility, with windows found on the topmost floor. After saluting the guard, Kazuya proceeds further inside.

He then finds an elevator and uses it. The elevator panel has many buttons. Most of those buttons pertain to the floors of the structure. Kazuya presses the button with the number 10.

After two minutes, Kazuya makes it to the tenth floor of the structure. The only thing there is a door with a panel that opens the door with a voice recognition module. It appears this is the ship's bridge. Kazuya approaches the module.

"Captain, this is Aoi," says Kazuya. "Permission to proceed."

"Granted," says Siobhan.

Kazuya proceeds inside the bridge and salutes as soon as he and Siobhan make eye contact.

"Good you made it Aoi," says Siobhan. "We've just about finished getting everyone from Kirishima inside."

"Captain, if I may ask, how's the rest of Alpha Flight"' asked Kazuya.

"Doing well."

"Captain, we've spotted five Type-S Nova approaching from the northeast," says Jami.

The Type-Ss spoken of by Jami appear on a screen on top of the bridge's windows. They're right beside Mount Kirishima. At the same time, Siobhan faces Albert.

"Curtis, please notify Alpha Flight to withdraw immediately. We'll be withdrawing as well."

"Roger that," replied Albert.

* * *

June 22, 2070 (11:07, UTC+09:00)

Kirishima, Kagoshima Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan

* * *

As Kazuya is in New Eden, Pavel is engaged in combat with the machine the former encountered back in Isa.

The machine fires what appear to be energy beams coming from turrets located in its hips. Pavel dodges them.

Pavel brings out his Gungel's limbs and fires four missiles, with two coming from each leg. However, the machine destroys them with energy balls coming from its palms.

The machine fires upon Pavel with its right palm. The latter evades the attack and switches his Gungel to Gear Soldier mode. He then uses the Gungel's rifle and fires at the machine. However, the machine evades the attack.

"Whoever's inside that thing is pretty good," replied Pavel.

Pavel reverts back to Gear Fighter mode and continues pursuing the machine. He then uses the Gungel's nose machine guns, but a flying Humanoid-Type gets in the way, killing it instead.

Pavel goes back to Gear Diver mode and fires four missiles again, with one coming from each limb. The machine uses its right palm to destroy them but it only destroys three of them. One hits the right leg.

"I got you!" happily exclaimed Pavel.

"Alpha Flight, please withdraw at once," says Jami as she contacts Pavel's Gungel. "I repeat, please fall back."

"I guess that's it," says Pavel.

Pavel, along with the rest of Alpha Flight, begins proceeding back to New Eden. The machine withdraws as well.

* * *

Back in the bridge, Siobhan then faces Kyoichi.

"Minase, please get the ship flying," ordered Siobhan.

"Roger that," replied Kyoichi.

Kyoichi then finds a panel with his left hand and pushes it down. As he does, the ship starts flying.

"Type-Ss are 250 kilometers away," says Tania.

Siobhan then faces Sandra.

"Doctor, are we good to fire the Atom Disintegrator Cannon?" asked Siobhan.

Sandra is taken aback by Siobhan's question but one can understand why she would react to Siobhan's question. The Atom Disintegrator Cannon is the latest weapon that was developed to fight the Nova. It hadn't been properly tested and the one New Eden is armed with is the only prototype.

"We are," replied Sandra.

"Good."

"Nova are 200 kilometers away."

Siobhan then accesses her panel's communicator. She presses the button that says "Engine Room".

"McMillan, this is the Captain," says Siobhan. "We're going to fire the Atom Disintegrator Cannon."

* * *

New Eden is powered by an Infinium reactor as large as the A1B reactor plant once used by the ancient American aircraft carrier class Gerald R. Ford. As a contrast to the Infinium used to power Tactical Suits and Variable Gears, a reactor as large as the one for New Eden can power an entire continent.

Responding to Siobhan's call is Keith McMillan, chief engineer of New Eden, and father of Arnett McMillan, one of West Genetics' elite Pandora. He is a man in his fifties with dark hair.

"Roger that, Captain," says Keith.

Keith then finds a panel containing two levers. The levers respectfully pertain to the engine pressure and the emergency valves. Keith raises the former and closes the latter.

"Engine pressure raised and emergency valves closed.

"Please get the outlet ready."

"Roger that."

Keith finds another lever on his right and uses his right hand to pull it. As he pulls it, a hole in the bow of the opens up, which appears to be the Atom Disintegrator Cannon's muzzle.

"Chamber pressure is rising," says a female member of the engineering unit operating in a panel behind Keith.

"Get all energy into the Atom Disintegrator Cannon," Keith orders to his female subordinate. "Initiate induction."

"Initiating."

* * *

Back in the bridge, Sandra sees on her panel that the induction for firing the Atom Disintegrator Cannon has been raised.

"Captain, induction is raised," says Sandra.

"Good," says Siobhan. "Release safety."

"Will do," replied Cassie.

Cassie finds a lever in her panel. It pertains to the safety of the Atom Disintegrator Cannon. As she pushes the lever down, the safety is released.

"Safety is at zero," says Cassie. "Pressure at firing point."

"Target scope is open," says Cassie as a scope made of glass with a scope built on it is displayed on her panel with a grip and trigger also appearing.

"Wait, energy is at one hundred percent," says Siobhan.

After one minute, in which the Type-Ss have already gotten past Mount Kirishima and are approaching the coast, Keith finds on his panel that the energy to fire the Atom Disintegrator Cannon is beyond one hundred percent.

"Captain, energy is at 120%," says Keith.

"Prepare to fire," says Siobhan. "Everyone prepare for shock and flash."

Everyone on the bridge puts on UV glasses to protect their eyesight upon the firing of the Atom Disintegrator Cannon. Kazuya is given UV glasses by Maurice and immediately puts them on.

"Five… four… three… two… one… firing!"

Cassie then presses the trigger on the grip. The Atom Disintegrator Cannon is then fired.

Coming out of New Eden's bow is pure energy that is destructive. This is energy that has never been seen before. It then hits two of the Type-Ss, slowly but surely destroying them.

"Captain, the remaining Nova are beginning to withdraw," says Tania.

On the screen on top of the window, the remaining Type-Ss and Humanoid-Types withdraw.

 _Banul most likely ordered them to leave us alone for now,_ says Kazuya in his mind.

"Aoi, please see to our new passengers," says Siobhan. "They're in the Soryu. Please tell them to prepare for Boosting."

Kazuya is surprised by what Siobhan had said. To him, he still remembers the first time the ship did a Boosting, and is troubled that those from Kirishima who have joined the ship will be experiencing it for the first time.

"Roger that, Captain," says Kazuya as he salutes and leaves.

* * *

Thirty minutes later, Kazuya arrives at the carrier attached to New Eden. It now hosts everyone from Kirishima. Kaho, along with Arthur, Ganessa, Rana, Bruce, and Shinji, approaches him.

"Aoi-kun, you're alive," says Kaho. "What was that just now?"

"The Atom Disintegrator Cannon," answered Kazuya. "It's the newest weapon developed to fight the Nova. As you could tell, the weapon is powerful."

"New Eden has quite a lot of secrets doesn't it?" asked Rana.

"It's even the colony ship that was discovered four years ago."

Everyone is shocked by what Kazuya had said. To them, they know of the ship as a different name.

"Wait, I've just realized something. Is this Relic-01?" asked Arthur.

"It is," replied Kazuya. "Now you know where it is. That little stunt made Chevalier suspicious and considering who's controlling that organization, you should feel better about it being stolen."

"So what, a handful of pirates are humanity's only hope?" asked Ganessa.

"I pray that it doesn't come to that," replied Kazuya.

"You know, that reminds me, this carrier looks like the Soryu from World War II," says Shinji.

"That's because it is."

"What?"

"Secretly, Dr. Burton preserved the wreckage of both the Soryu and Hiryu. When the time came, she had the preserved wreckage secretly recovered and attached to New Eden."

"I see."

"In any case, we'll be Boosting very soon."

"What?" asked Kaho.

"We'll be able to travel much faster regardless of how fast we're going."

Everyone keeps silent. To them, they'll be experiencing another surprise of New Eden.

"Please hold-"

"Attention everyone, we'll be returning to the Philippine Sea," says Tania over the ship's PA (Public Address) system. "We'll also do a Boosting. Please grab on to something and prepare for the worse."

"Do as she says," says Kazuya as he lays on the ground.

* * *

Back in the bridge, Siobhan faces Kyoichi again.

"Minase, please get the ship facing back," ordered Siobhan.

"Roger that," replied Kyoichi.

Kyoichi then uses the ship's steering wheel. As he does, the ship makes a half-circle turn and is already facing the Philippine Sea. He then pushes a lever that determines the ship's moving speed.

There are two directions for the lever to take. One is "Fast" and the other one is "Slow". Kyoichi puts the lever at Slow, having the ship move slowly and past the Sakurajima volcano.

Sakurajima is a volcano located on an island in the middle of Kagoshima Bay facing the Osumi Peninsula, which is southeast of Kirishima. The island where Sakurajima is located in became a part of the Osumi peninsula after a volcanic eruption in 1914.

"We Boost after we go past Sakurajima," ordered Siobhan.

"Yes, ma'am," replied Kyoichi.

* * *

Five minutes had passed. Everyone on board is ready and waiting for the Boosting.

"Attention everyone, this is your captain speaking," says Siobhan on the PA system. "We've just passed Sakurajima. All hands prepare for Boosting."

"Minase, do it," ordered Siobhan.

"Roger," replied Kyoichi.

Kyoichi then switches the lever he had pushed from Slow to Fast. As he does, the ship's movement is accelerated. Shaking occurs across the entire ship, with everyone holding on to things they can grab.

Everyone, from the military personnel to the civilians already on board do what they can to survive the Boosting. This was done before, so they know what to do.

* * *

Eventually, the ship makes it to the middle of the Philippine Sea and past Okinawa.

Everyone then feels the aftereffects of the Boost. Most stay on the floor as they cannot easily move. Kazuya has his face fallen flat on the metal floor of the Soryu.

"Are… we alive?" asked Rana as she is laying on the floor with an unconscious Japanese Home Army soldier's face laying on her breasts.

"We… are," weakly answered Kazuya as he uses whatever strength he has left to stand.

* * *

Translations

Kokusai Ongaku (Japanese) – kanji for "International" and "Music"

Soryu (Japanese) – kanji for "twin" and "dragon"

Hiryu (Japanese) – kanji for "soar" and "dragon"

Sakurajima (Japanese) – kanji for "cherry blossom" and "island"

* * *

A/N:

The words Rana remembered outside Kaoshima Kokusai Ongaku Hall are from Volume 5, Chapter 4 of Freezing Zero.

The way Kazuya kills the new Nova type based on a lobster is based on how in the opening of Super Dimension Century Orguss, the titular mecha straightens its right arm and fires a missile from the weapon attached to it.

There you have it, the stand-in for the titular ship of Space Battleship Yamato and the titular ship of The Super Dimension Fortress Macross, New Eden, debuts here. It even comes with a stand-in for the Wave Motion Gun. The bridge layout is similar to the Space Battleship Yamato live-action film.

Yes, I brought up Arnett's father Keith from Freezing Zero here. I plan on using multiple characters from the entire Freezing franchise for this fic just as I did with Kaho and Elizabeth's younger siblings being introduced in the previous chapter.

Pavel's fight with the machine from Chapter 5 of this fic is based on episode 18 of The Super Dimension Fortress Macross, where Maximilian Jenius first fights Milia Fallyna.

Now then, please wait for the next chapter.


	10. Chapter 10

Kikou Kyuuseishu Gungel

(Armored Saviour Gungel)

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters in Freezing, nor the initial setting.

* * *

Chapter 10: New Eden

* * *

June 22, 2070 (13:50, UTC+09:00)

Philippine Sea

New Eden

* * *

Hours had passed since New Eden, the city-state using the alien vessel discovered in 2066, rescued UNCF soldiers, Japanese Home Army soldiers, and civilians that were holding up in what used to be the city of Kirishima in the main Japanese island of Kyushu.

Currently, the refugees from Kirishima are being settled into the city while the Japanese Home Army make a cell. For those curious, tours are offered.

What invites curiosity is the architecture of most of the structures. The aforementioned structures look like old structures found in various European cities. In truth, the Empire had the architecture first, which adds to the curiosity.

Elsewhere, a private tour is taking place in the military facilities. Every other tour ends at the government section of the middle ship. This tour involves going to to the military facilities.

Those part of this private tour are Arthur Crypton, Ganessa Roland, Bruce Sykes. Shinji Midorikawa, and Rana Linchen. Their "tour guide" is none other than Kazuya Aoi. The six then stop at the structure where the bridge is located.

"Kazuya-kun, where are we now?" asked Rana.

"The bridge," replied Kazuya.

"Why bring us out here?" asked Arthur.

"Because prior to the invasion, I was already recommended my own flight to command. I plan on introducing all of you to the Captain of the entire ship."

"Wait, you're having us drafted?" asked Shinji.

"Not really," replied Kazuya. "You volunteered to assist me in taking the fight to the Nova and rescuing Satella-senpai. I'd prefer it be done formally as a unit in the New Eden Air Security Forces."

"I see."

"Any more questions?"

The other five do not ask anymore. They realized what it meant when they swore to help Kazuya.

"Good, let's proceed."

The six proceed to the main command building. However, a guard stops them.

The guard is a man from Algeria of Chaoui descent as he has gray eyes. He is wearing a Lightweight Helmet and an IOTV (Improved Outer Tactical Vest) bulletproof vest, both of which are colored black. His weapon is that of a BMCR (Bullpup Multirole Combat Rifle) assault rifle. He is one of the ship's on-board security personnel that stay on the ship to maintain law and order.

"Lieutenant Aoi, who are those people?" asked the guard.

"Please let them come inside," asks Kazuya. "I've notified the Captain and she wishes to see them."

"I see. You may proceed."

The guard then steps aside. Kazuya, Arthur, Ganessa, Bruce, Shinji, and Rana proceed inside.

The six then find the elevator. After pressing the button that opens it, they proceed inside, with Kazuya pressing the button with the number 9.

* * *

After two minutes, the six make it to the ninth floor. The floor in question is Siobhan's private floor, with two rooms. Where the elevator takes the six is her study.

The study has a desk and chair that directly faces the elevator. There is a bookshelf on the desk's right. In front of the bookshelf and the elevator are two sofas. On the desk's left is the door leading to Sibohan's bedroom. On the wall behind Siobhan's desk is a screen.

Siobhan is already seated as the six enter her study. As the six stops, Kazuya salutes.

"Lieutenant Kazuya Aoi, New Eden Air Security Forces."

"At ease," says Siobhan. "All of you please sit down."

As Kazuya does as Siobhan orders, he and the other five get seated. Bruce, Shinji, and Rana sit on the sofa in front of the bookshelf while Arthur, Ganessa, and Kazuya sit on the sofa in front of the elevator.

"Other than Lieutenant Aoi here, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Siobhan McAllister, and I'm captain of New Eden."

"Wait a minute, "McAllister", as in Liam McAllister of the 1st Chevalier Unified Fleet?" asked Arthur.

"I'm amazed you know that," replied Siobhan. "Yes, he's my father."

"But wouldn't make the both of you enemies?" asked Ganessa.

"We made our choices. It remains to be seen as to what will happen if we meet. I do know it's in battle."

"Why the animosity between you and Chevalier, which led to this ship being stolen from them?" asked Shinji.

"I imagine Aoi has told you about its real leader but that's another reason why we see them as the enemy," answered Siobhan. "You see, some influential people have seen that Chevalier has attempted quite an amount of suspicious activities. We have all the proof concerning this. Wish to see it now?"

"Not really," answered Shinji. "Maybe at another time."

"In any case, I've been told about each of you in reports from Lieutenant Aoi. As you know, he has told you that you'll be his subordinates in his flight. Will there be any concerns about that?"

"We don't," says Arthur.

"Good," says Siobhan. "That reminds me. Miss Linchen, I imagine your superiors at Langley are fine with this?"

Everyone else other than Kazuya is surprised by what Siobhan said about Rana.

"Rana, what's the Captain here talking about?" asked Bruce.

"It's true," answered Rana. "I actually work for the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency). I ran into them when I left Dr. Aoi to go on a training expedition and got a job there looking for Kazuya-kun, hoping he would lead me to here. They're the ones who sneaked me into Japan when Operation Final Push II started."

"I imagine Langley needs our help in taking down Chevalier?" asked Siobhan.

"Yes," replied Rana.

"I see. If you contact them, please tell them we'll help. However, also tell them helping the UNCF comes first."

"I understand."

"In any case, all of you are now designated as New Eden Air Security Forces Beta Flight. Lieutenant Aoi will be your commanding officer. Is that understood?"

"Yes, ma'am!" shouted all six as they stand up and salute her.

"Captain, permission to ask something as the leader of the newly formed Beta Flight," asked Kazuya.

"What might that be?" asked Siobhan.

"Permission to place Arthur Crypton as my second-in-command."

Everyone else, Arthur himself included, are surprised by Kazuya's request.

"Might I know the reason for this request?"

"Arthur here has been in the military longer than I have. I may have done so much for New Eden to earn my rank but if I am to be a flight leader, I will need someone with more experience being a soldier."

"That seemed compelling. Very well, your request is granted. As for the rest of you, I've had your uniforms and paperwork prepared for you. You can either live in the barracks or anywhere of your choosing. I must return to the bridge now."  
Siobhan then leaves her study and takes the elevator back to the bridge.

"Kazuya, why did you do that?" asked Arthur. "Ganessa-senpai and I have only been in the military for a year if you disregard the year before that."

"As I said, I did so much for New Eden to earn being a Lieutenant but that mostly involved disobeying initial orders. I need someone who has proper military discipline. Other than me, New Eden doesn't have a proper military structure. We're just volunteers who are initially taught how to fight, with discipline coming second."

"I see. What did you mean by 'doing so much' anyways?"

"Let's just say I have an 'unorthodox' way of doing things."

"Fine."

"In any case, let's get something to eat first. I know a place."

* * *

June 23, 2070 (07:30, UTC+09:00)

Philippine Sea

New Eden, Military Complex

* * *

The following day, a hundred people have gathered in the military complex. Most of those are the refugees from Kirishima and they had volunteered to the various branches of the New Eden Security Forces.

In a raised stand made of wood are six people. Three of them are Kazuya, Siobhan, and Maurice. The other three are New Eden's mayor Jonah Taylor, New Eden Ground Security Forces commander William Brown, and New Eden Air Security Forces commander Janet Baxter.

Brown is a man is in his early sixties with white hair and blue eyes. He is wearing the uniform for generals of the Union Army from the American Civil War, which consist of a black felt Hardee hat designated the Model 1858 Dress Hat, a double-breasted Prussian blue coat with collar and cuffs colored black velvet, a dark blue greatcoat, sky blue trousers, and riding boots.

Janet is an African-American woman with light brown eyes and short black hair that is standing up. She is wearing the same green jacket and pants Kazuya wears but with the former zipped.

Unlike Brown and Janet, Taylor, who is as old as the former but has green eyes, isn't in military wear. He is wearing a suit consisting of a black blazer, periwinkle blue button shirt, golden tie, and black-colored trousers and shoes.

Siobhan then approaches the pulpit.

"For those who have volunteered, my name is Siobhan McAllister and I am the captain of New Eden. Normally, we'd need a year to train you but we don't have that luxury. The rest of your skills in combat will be earned in battle. Unfortunately, this will put all of you at a greater risk of death. Know that you won't be treated as soldiers always. There will be a need to enforce order and discipline but all I can say in this regard is fight in the way you think works because that's how we actually fight here. I am honored to be your commander. Welcome to New Eden."

Siobhan gets off the pulpit. Janet then takes it.

"My name is Janet Baxter, commander of the New Eden Air Security Forces and of its Alpha Flight. For those who have volunteered into the Air Security Forces, we'll be getting another shipment of Variable Gears. I'd hate to disappoint you but we do not have enough Variable Gears for everyone. However, we have roles that you can volunteer for. Not everyone in an air force has to be a pilot and those that aren't pilots can help. Remember that."

Janet then leaves, with Brown taking the pulpit next.

"I'm William Brown, commander of the New Eden Ground Security Forces. As Captain McAllister has said, you're training will be awfully short. However, it will still be rough, to say the least, and it will all apply to everyone regardless of branch. Good day."

Brown then leaves the pulpit, with Maurice about to take it. In the midst of this, there are multiple reactions from everyone in attendance. Siobhan, Kazuya, and Janet appear embarrassed, most likely due to how Brown talked.

"Good day, I am Maurice Normandeau, commander of the New Eden Maritime Security Forces. For those who have volunteered for the Maritime Security Forces, I thank you. Most of you won't be out there fighting and I apologize for that. However, whatever duty you're assigned to in the Maritime Security Forces will be very helpful. As Mademoiselle Baxter as said, even those who don't fight in one branch can help. I am honored to be your commander, thank you."

Maurice then leaves the stand.

* * *

June 23, 2070 (09:49, UTC+09:00)

Philippine Sea

New Eden, Military Complex

* * *

Two hours had passed. After an hour of training, all the volunteers are resting. Some look like they have died because of the training regimen. In one room, Arthur, Ganessa, Bruce, Shinji, and Rana are as exhausted as everyone else.

"I… haven't been… this exhausted… since West Genetics," exhaustedly says Ganessa.

"Same… here," says Bruce.

Suddenly, Kazuya comes inside with what appears to be a cooler. Everyone stands up as they know Kazuya is their commanding officer.

"At ease everyone," replied Kazuya. "Just resume sitting down."

Everyone does as Kazuya asks.

"What are you doing here, Kazuya-kun?" asked Rana.

"I came to cheer you guys up with this," says Kazuya as he opens the cooler to show it loaded with cans of Joey Hunter black beer.

"I haven't had beer since Operation Final Push II started," says Arthur.

Kazuya then distributes a can to each of his subordinates. Each begins drinking upon receiving the can.

"Watch how you drink," says Kazuya. "After this, you're to report to the flight simulation center."

"We'll be learning how to fly a Variable Gear now?" asked Rana.

"Indeed," replied Kazuya. "Not everyone will end up flying a Variable Gear but its better if all of you learn how."

"I see," says Bruce. "Thanks."

"Finish up," says Kazuya as he is leaving. "I'll see you there."

Kazuya then leaves and closes the door.

* * *

Ten minutes later, Arthur, Ganessa, Bruce, Shinji, and Rana arrive at the flight simulation center. The flight simulator center is where those who've volunteered for the Air Security Forces learn how to fly a Variable Gear.

The flight simulator has a chair with cushions to help the pilot feel comfortable as he or she pilots. The controls consist of two foot pedals, a control stick on the right, and two levers.

The control stick on the right has a button on the topmost section while there are two buttons below it. These buttons appear to be for the Variable Gear's weapons.

On the left are the throttle quadrant and another lever beside it. The second lever is currently switched to Gear Fighter mode.

Kazuya, who is inside the room and beside the machine, sees his subordinates.

"Good, you're all here," says Kazuya. "Who'll volunteer first."

"I will," says Arthur.

"All right then, get in."

Arthur then gets himself seated. Kazuya takes position in a room to the rear, which appears to be where the instructor is positioned. Kazuya then activates the mics to allow himself to communicate with everyone else in the room.

"Attention, this test is to familiarize all of you with how to pilot a Variable Gear. Some of you know how to do so but you'll need to learn again because Gungels operate differently than your Storks. Despite that, Gungels are still turned on like Storks. For those learning for the first time, pay attention."

Arthur goes through the process of starting up the simulator. He finds the button that is the stand-in for the jet fuel starter's "ON" button. After he presses it, the entire simulator is turned on. After going through the following rounds, the simulator's display is now in the air. Arthur then presses the right foot pedal, having the screen go right as a stand-in for using the right vertical stabilizer.

"That should do," says Kazuya. "You'll be approaching the ground next. A simulated Crab is there."

Arthur then sees the simulated Crab on the simulator's screen. The simulated Crab begins firing, with Arthur evading it.

"Nice dodging. Now, you must learn how to switch modes. First, go to Gear Diver mode. There's another lever beside the throttle control."

Arthur then finds the second left lever. He does as Kazuya asks and switches to Gear Soldier mode.

"Good. Now then, try firing your rifle. The Gungel will use its rifle at this point. To fire it, press the second button in the control stick.

Arthur then presses the second button on the control stick. As he does, the simulator has the rifle being fired but the simulated Crab evades the shot.

"Now then, that Crab evaded your attack. Switch to Gear Soldier mode, then finish the fight."

Arthur then presses the second left lever to Gear Soldier mode. The screen goes up, simulating what happens upon switching to Gear Fighter mode.

Arthur then sees that the Crab is behind him as he sees a red dot behind the blue dot representing him in the map display found on the lower left. He turns and fires the rifle at the simulated Nova. The simulated Nova fires again but Arthur evades it and kills the Nova, ending the simulation.

"Excellent work, Arthur."

Arthur then gets out of the simulator. Ganessa proceeds inside.

* * *

June 23, 2070 (17:49, UTC+09:00)

Philippine Sea

New Eden, Military Complex

* * *

After hours of more training, the members of Beta Element have finished showering. They are now in their service uniforms, consisting of a buttoned shirt and trousers colored resolution blue.

As Arthur, Shinji, and Bruce come out of the changing room for men, while Ganessa and Rana come out of the changing room for females, Kazuya find them. His service uniform is like theirs, albeit with stripes of light blue on the ends of both sleeves and his chest pinned with various decorations as befitting of an officer.

"For your first day in the service, you all did well," says Kazuya.

"Thanks," replied Arthur.

"Going out? Allow me to treat you for your first day here. I know of a place here in New Eden. Want to come with me?"

"Sure," replied Shinji.

Later, the six find their respective vehicles. As Kazuya, Shinji, and Arthur board their Guncycles, Ganessa boards her Vagabond, and Rana and Bruce get to the Humheeve.

The six members of Beta Flight arrive at a restaurant and bar called Bucky's Saloon and Grill. The establishment is reminiscent of saloons found in Western movies. As the Beta Flight members get inside, they find an empty table and get seated.

A waitress approaches Beta Flight's table. She is a Caucasian woman with brown hair and green eyes and is wearing a powder blue blouse and a black skirt. She is also wearing shoes with low heels that are colored brown. Her name appears to be "Mary" as it appears on a name tag attached on her right chest.

"Lieutenant McAllister, you're back," says Mary.

"Glad to see you too, Mary," replied Kazuya.

"I heard you're a flight leader now. Are these people your subordinates?"

"They are. Arthur Crypton, Ganessa Roland, Bruce Sykes, Shinji Midorikawa, and Rana Linchen."

As Kazuya introduces Mary to his subordinates, he does so by pointing his open hand. Upon being introduced, the other five bow down in respect.

"Thank you. May I then take your order?" asked Mary as she hands out menus to each of the Beta Flight members.

"We still wish to look in out menus. We'll let you know."

"Thanks."

Mary then leaves the Beta Flight members to attend to other customers. Suddenly, Pavel comes in.

"Ka-" says Pavel as he sees Kazuya but the latter gives an uneasy glare.

Pavel realizes that he nearly said Kazuya's real name to those in Bucky who don't know. Everyone in Bucky's stares at him.

"Ryusei, good to see you," says Pavel as he remembers to use Kazuya's alias. "Mind if I join you?"

"Sure," says Kazuya.

Pavel then finds a menu and a chair. Afterward, he joins the Beta Flight members. Bruce and Shinji give Pavel somewhere to place the chair and sit down.

"Sorry about earlier," says Pavel. "In any case, congratulations on being a flight leader."

"Thanks," says Kazuya. "Everyone, this is Pavel Sergeyevich Sidorov. He's the second-in-command of Alpha Flight. My subordinates, A-"

"Arthur Crypton, Ganessa Roland, Bruce Sykes, Shinji Midorikawa, and Rana Linchen," answered Pavel as he interrupted Kazuya.

 _Seriously, Kazuya, you brought Rana-chan here?_ Pavel asked in his mind. _Honolulu didn't go smoothly because of her._

"That's right," says Kazuya. "Where's the rest of Alpha Flight?"

"Janet's on paperwork duty, and the rest are on a double date."

"I see."

"How did you meet Ka- I mean, Ryusei anyways?" asked Rana.

"I'd like to tell but can we please eat first?" asked Pavel.

"Fine."

"I'm ready to order," says Shinji.

Seeing Mary nearby, Kazuya raises his hand. She returns to Beta Flight's table and takes their orders.

* * *

The Beta Flight members and Pavel had finished their meal. Right now, it is being emptied, with everyone on the table being given glasses of water.

"How did you and Ryusei meet anyways?" asked Arthur.

"I ran into Ryusei here in Hong Kong a year ago," answered Pavel.

"Hong Kong?" asked Shinji. "What were you two doing there?"

"We ran into each other there," answered Kazuya. "When I heard that Banul made Hong Kong his private city, I went there looking for information on him. I just ran into Pavel there."

"I went there because Pavel was hosting a secret fighting tournament," says Pavel. "I ran into Ryusei here when my sister and I went there."

"You have a sister?' asked Rana.

"I do," answered Pavel. "Her name is Ludmila. Here's a photo."

Pavel brings out a photograph of his younger sister Ludmila. She is a fifteen-year-old girl with long blonde hair and blue eyes like Pavel and she is wearing a white blouse and a red tie underneath a dark blue blazer and a tartan culotte.

"That tournament was also how Ryusei and I ended up New Eden."

* * *

July 1, 2069 (20:49, UTC+08:00)

Central and Western District, Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, People's Republic of China

* * *

Hong Kong was once one of the world's financial centers. This was since the Tang Dynasty. It had ended up a colony of the British Empire in 1842 after the Qing Dynasty's defeat in the First Opium War that started in 1839. Despite the interruption of a Japanese occupation during the Second World War, Hong Kong had remained a British colony until it was given to the People's Republic of China in 1997 while it was economically independent.

When the Nova conquered 51% of the world in 2065, China, much less Hon Kong, wasn't spared. While all financial institutions, as well as others, abandoned the city, most of the city was destroyed. Most of the damage is in the New Territories and Hong Kong Island.

It had become a crime-filled city as local gangs became the law and order in the city and those that stayed became destitute. When Hong Kong, along with the rest of China, was liberated in March of 2068, the UNCF had to restore order to the city. Despite this, crime is still high in the city and a fair number of the population remain destitute. What could be rebuilt was rebuilt by the corporate empire of Apollyon Crowley, whose real identity is that of Banul Panum, the man who leads the Nova. The city, to some people, is "his seat of power" as he turned the old Bank of China Tower into a casino and hotel named "Crowley's Tower of Pleasure".

Kazuya Aoi had just arrived in the city. Because it had become synonymous with Banul's alias Apollyon, Kazuya figured that Hong Kong would give him the information needed in tracking down Banul. He covers most of himself with a gray cloak while hiding his face with a long straw hat pointed down and is already wearing an eyepatch over his left eye in order to make sure Banul's agents do not recognize him.

Everywhere he goes is to show how low the city had fallen. Shops and businesses that were proof of Hong Kong's place in the world are now abandoned, with broken windows as proof.

 _Typical Banul chose this city as his 'seat of power',_ Kazuya says in his mind.

Kazuya then makes it to Crowley's Tower of Pleasure, which used to be the Bank of China Tower. When the Nova conquered Hong Kong, the Bank of China Tower became a host for a Nova Roost. When the city was liberated and the Nova Roost destroyed, Banul had his construction and architecture company rebuild the city, while starting another business enterprise in the form of Crowley's Tower of Pleasure, which consisted of turning the seventy-two-story building into a hotel and casino.

The entrance to the hotel and casino has a giant flashing sign stating the name of the hotel and casino in pink-colored neon lights. The sign is that of Banul with a cigar in his mouth to burn bills. Another "Crowley's" sign is found on the very top of the building, albeit the neon light is colored blue.

 _He's not lacking in vanity,_ says Kazuya in his mind.

Suddenly, Kazuya hears something happen at the entrance. A blond man is being thrown out of the hotel and casino. The man in question is Pavel Sergeyevich Sidorov.

As the man laid on the ground, three men in black suits come out. All of them wear sunglasses but each of them come from different ethnic backgrounds. One is an African-American man with a buzz cut, one is a Caucasian man with brown hair, and another is a Chinese man with no hair. It appears they're guards for the hotel and casino. Pavel is wearing a white shirt underneath a Russian air force winter jacket, green pants, and brown boots.

"I don't care if you're a participant in the tournament," says the Caucasian man. "You don't strike a gambling customer."

"He started it first!" shouted Pavel. "He hit my sister and no one did a thing, especially you."

"What's going on here?" asks Kazuya as he walks in.

"None of your business," says the African-American man.

Kazuya then presses his two right fingers towards his brain. He sees in his mind what happened. A drunk Chinese man with black short hair in a purple suit accidentally hit a fourteen-year-old girl. The girl is the younger sister the blond man was talking about. The man, in Kazuya's mind, starts a fight with the man in purple, causing the security personnel to respond.

The sound of a punch interrupts Kazuya just as the latter has finished using the life forces. He then sees the Caucasian man being punched by the blond man. The Chinese man responds in kind, with the blond man landing into the ground.

"That's it," says Kazuya as he goes between the blond man and the three men in black,

"If you're going to take his side, we'll take you on too," says the Caucasian man.

"Fine with me," says Kazuya as he removes his hat and gets into his fighting stance.

The three men attempt to surround Kazuya. However, the Caucasian man is struck first by Kazuya as he strikes with his right fist, then his left elbow. The African-American man attempts to land a punch but Kazuya grabs him and does a Seoi Nage, throwing him into the ground. Kazuya slightly jumps and spins as he aims his right leg, and as it briefly hit, he then uses the left leg, knocking the man on the ground.

"That's enough!"

Shouting was a Chinese man in a black suit like the three men Kazuya had just beaten up. He has short black hair and light brown eyes.

"Mr. Sidorov, I apologize for what happened to your sister," says the man. "Please return to your room."

"Thank you," replied Pavel.

"As for you, you fought well," says the man as he faces Kazuya next. "Please come with me."

* * *

"You met Sunming Zhou?" asked Arthur as he interrupts Kazuya in the present.

"Who?" asked Rana.

"He owned Crowley's Tower of Pleasure until it was reported he died in an accident on board his private yacht," answered Ganessa. "Though I imagine our commander knows the real truth."

"I do," says Kazuya. "Allow me to resume."

* * *

July 1, 2069 (21:49, UTC+08:00)

Central and Western District, Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, People's Republic of China

Crowley's Tower of Pleasure, Zhou's office

* * *

Kazuya and the man Arthur and Ganessa identified in the present as Zhou Sunming arrive at his office, which is located in the seventieth floor. The office consists of a desk and chair with a bookshelf behind it. There are three sofas in front of the desk. One faces the desk, another is on the desk's left, and another on the right. Behind the sofa on the left is a small table consisting of a bottle of champagne and two glasses. The entire floor is Zhou's office.

"Please get yourself seated first," says Zhou.

Kazuya gets himself seated as Zhou offered. Zhou then approaches the champagne bottle.

"Want one?" asked Zhou.

"Thank you but no thank you," politely refused Kazuya.

"Suit yourself," says Zhou as he fills up his own glass.

Zhou then returns to his desk. As he gets seated, he has a sip of his champagne.

"You fought well," says Zhou.

"Thanks," replied Kazuya.

"Forgive me for not introducing myself earlier. My name is Sunming Zhou and Mr. Crowley appointed me manager of this establishment. What is your name?"

 _Come on, Kazuya, think of something,_ says Kazuya in his mind. _I have to think of names Zhou won't report to Banul._

"Ryusei. Ryusei Kudo," replied Kazuya.

"First time here in China?" asked Zhou.

"Yes."

"What are you even doing here in Hong Kong?  
"On a meditation journey."

"Why do you keep a Japanese sword with you? Practice swordfighting?"

"I do."

"As I saw, you also know much of unarmed combat."

"I train a lot in both."

"I see. How about entering my tournament?"  
"A tournament?"

"You see, I'm hosting a secret tournament here. Enter and win, you can have anything that you desire."

 _Did I hear that right?_ Kazuya asked to himself in his mind. _If I enter Zhou-san's tournament, I can figure out much about Banul. Other than that, I could use the extra money and this is also a chance to test my fighting skills._

"Very well, I'll enter your tournament."

"Good," says Zhou as he presses a button beside him.

Another guard of the hotel and casino, this time a Caucasian man with reddish brown hair and blue eyes, enters the office. He is carrying Kazuya's duffel bag.

"This man will take you to your room. Please enjoy yourself here."

"Thank you," replied Kazuya.

Kazuya then stands up. After bowing down his head in gratitude, he leaves with the guard.

* * *

The guard then brings Kazuya to the sixty-fifth floor of Crowley's Tower of Pleasure. The two arrive at the door of a room with the floor's number and the letter G.

The guard opens the door with a card and it shows a room with a closet to the left of the door and a door to a bathroom in front of it. Pass the closet and the bathroom is a table on the left and two beds on the right. Attached to the window is a sofa that can also function as another bed.

The guard then gives Kazuya the duffel bag and the card that was used to open the door.

"Keep this card with you at all times," says the guard. "As for payments, all are free for those in the tournament. It starts tomorrow. Refer to this for further information."

Kazuya is then given a flyer containing information on Zhou's tournament. The topmost words are "YOU ARE INVITED". Below them are the words "Secret Martial Arts Tournament." On the bottom left of the flyer is the showing the location of the hotel and casino being Garden Street, while the bottom right shows the words "Tournament starts at 9:00 AM. Go to elevator at 8:50 AM. A guard will personally take you to the floor as to where the tournament takes place."

"Well then, I will take my leave then," says the guard. "Preferably, you ought to sleep now for tomorrow but you can enjoy the offerings here. Just make sure you're awake for tomorrow."

As the guard leaves, Kazuya closes the door. The latter then begins unpacking his duffel bag. Afterward, he lays in one of the two beds of the room.

 _I have to hope Banul did nothing to Satella-senpai,_ Kazuya says to himself in his mind. _I can find out if my plan goes smoothly._

A knock on the door is heard. Kazuya answers it by opening the door. To his surprise, it's Pavel

"Hi there," says Pavel. "Can I invite you for a drink for saving my life?"

"Sure."

* * *

Forty minutes later, Kazuya and Pavel make it back to the ground floor and proceed to the restaurant section of the hotel and casino. The restaurant is divided into two sections. One section is for all ages, complete with a buffet. The other section is a bar for those old enough to drink. A sign found beside the door says "18 and above only" in English, Mandarin Chinese, and Cantonese Chinese.

Kazuya and Pavel then find two chairs by the counter and take them. The bartender, a male, then notices their attention.

"May I help you two?" asked the bartender.

"Yes, please," says Pavel. "Two Tsingtao Beer please."

"Thank you," says the bartender.

As the bartender looks for Tsingtao Beer to serve, Pavel turns his attention to Kazuya.

"Name's Pavel Sergeyevich Sidorov. What's yours?"

"Ryusei Kudo."

"Thanks again for earlier."

"No problem."

"Your orders," says the bartender as he returns to Kazuya and Pavel with two bottles of Tsingtao Beer.

After opening the bottles, the bartender leaves both Pavel and Kazuya. Pavel drinks his bottle first, then stops.

"What was that kick move you did earlier?" asked Pavel.

"I call it Byakko Senpushu," replied Kazuya. "I practice Jujutsu."

"I see. Why are you out here in China anyway?"

"I needed the money for my travels and also hoped to test my fighting skills," answered Kazuya.

"I… see," weakly says Pavel. "You looked strong when you helped me back there. I can tell you might win this tournament."

"I'm sorry, did I say something to offend you?" asked Kazuya.

"It's just that I need the request Mr. Zhou will grant to the winner really bad."

"What is it that you need?"

"You see, I didn't come here alone. I came with my sister Ludmila."

"Your sister?"

"She contracted a disease that forced her into a wheelchair. The rest of this is too private to bring up here. Can we please take this up in my room?"

"Sure."

"May we please take our bottles with us to my room?" Pavel asks the bartender.

"Sure," says the bartender.

* * *

Pavel and Kazuya return to the former's room on the sixty-fifth floor. As Pavel closes the door, he opens the lights. As he does, he accidentally wakes up Ludmila, who is in her wheelchair while wearing a bathrobe.

"Pa… vel," says Ludmila as she realizes Pavel turned on the lights.

Pavel then rushes to Ludmila. The former realized he had just done and rushes to comfort.

"Ludmila, I'm sorry I woke you up," says Pavel.

"It's alright," replied Ludmila as she still has her eyes closed.

Pavel then faces Kazuya. He's now assured Ludmila isn't bothered.

"You see, things weren't nice in our home back in Vladivostok. My mother died giving birth to Ludmila and my father drank too much. When I finished high school and money got tight, I joined the Russian Air Force to earn more money. Due to the need for more funding for Genetics schools, I was discharged and worked for the Bratva."

"You mean the Russian Mafia?" asked Kazuya.

"Yes," replied Pavel. "I worked as a courier for them because they paid me enough to feed myself and Ludmila. Then one day, I was told to deliver something but I found out it was drugs. I confronted my boss over the matter and killed him. Just my luck to do that as I lost the only way I knew of earning money when I found out Ludmila contracted the disease. Since then, we've been on the run."

"Does she know about this?" asked Kazuya, with Pavel hearing Kazuya's question with guilt.

"She does. She only has four months to live and seems ready to meet the Maker but can you imagine an older sibling willing to let the younger one die?"

 _Pavel's right,_ Kazuya says to himself. _Nee-san did so much for me. We lived by ourselves for a while until she died seven years ago._

"I promise you I will ask Mr. Zhou for the money needed for the operation."

"Th…Thank you again," says Pavel.

"Just get to bed. We have a tournament, remember?"

"Right."

* * *

July 2, 2069 (09:09, UTC+08:00)

Central and Western District, Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, People's Republic of China

Crowley's Tower of Pleasure, Secret Underground Arena

* * *

The day of the secret tournament had come. It takes place in an underground arena whose location is only known to a few investors and affluent guests. All of them are actually Chevalier members due to them wearing the insignia as a pin on their suits.

Other than Kazuya and Pavel, there are fourteen more fighters in the tournament. There is only one girl and the same cloaked and masked figure that helped Ono save Kazuya back in West Genetics four years ago.

 _It's that person,_ Kazuya says in his mind as he sees the mysterious individual. _Is he or she there to watch me?_

The arena is closer to a thrust stage as there are three sections for the audience. On the northernmost end of the arena, Zhou sits on a throne on top with a table full of food and drinks for him on it. He is wearing a purple Chinese ceremonial robe with a silver dragon emblazoned on it.

Zhou then stands up. Everyone, including the fighters, pays attention to Zhou standing up.

"It matters little why you are here. As for rules, there are only two. Your blows must not be too fatal and when your opponent falls to the ground and doesn't get up after five seconds, that is it, the fight is over. Whosoever remains standing will have their personal request granted by me. Let the tournament begin!"

A gong is then heard. On the bleachers in the right, a man plants two cards on the left and right on a "VS" written in white. The card on the left has the name "Noir" and the name on the right has the name "Jin".

"Noir and Jin, come forward," commands Zhou.

The two aforementioned fighters come forward into the arena. Noir is the mysterious individual who helped Kazuya, while Jin is a man with long unkempt brown hair and wearing nothing but a ripped pair of black pants.

"Now, begin!" shouted Zhou.

As a gong is heard to start the first fight of the tournament, both Noir and Jin get to their respective stances. Noir's is that of an extending her right arm and keeping her left arm bent. Both of her hands are open. As a contrast, Jin's arms are wide open as if he wants to give a hug.

 _That stance, it's Aikido,_ Kazuya says in his mind.

Both Noir and Jin go across the entire arena. They intend to wait it out until one of them panics by attacking first.

Noir then strikes first in an instant. By the time everyone in the arena had noticed, Noir had already struck Jin's forehead with a knifehand strike.

Jin makes his anger known and attempts to strike with his right fist but it is grabbed by Noir's left arm. No one notices again and when they do, she had hit him in the chest with the right elbow, disorienting Jin.

Despite being disoriented, Jin attempts to attack again with his left fist. However, Noir grabs him again. This time, Noir takes take with the attack. Noir twists his left arm upwards, with Jin shouting in pain. The masked fighter then pushes Jin into the ground.

 _That person did something similar to an Accel,_ says Kazuya in his mind.

"The winner is Noir," says Zhou. "Prepare to be called upon for the next fight."

The cards for the next fight are then placed on the left and right of the "VS". The card on the left has the name "'Viper' Villareal" and the card on the right has "Ryusei Kudo."

"Villareal and Kudo, come forward."

Both Kazuya and Villareal come forward. Kazuya is wearing a white dogi and a blue-colored hakama. Villareal, from the Philippines, is a male who has short black hair and dark brown eyes. He is wearing nothing but yellow boxing gloves,, shorts and, rubber shoes. The latter two are colored black.

Kazuya and Villareal take their stances next. Villareal strikes first with a straight but Kazuya turns away from it to his right. Villareal then attempts an uppercut but Kazuya jumps away from it.

Kazuya then jumps and does a flying kick, which many martial artists have debated on practicality as it was very difficult to perform in competitive fights while using the right foot to hit Villareal in the face while landing afterward.

A punch then hits Kazuya in the face in that instant. It is Villareal's right fist hitting him. Within that instant, Villareal hits Kazuya again with his left fist, disorienting Kazuya.

Despite that, Kazuya regains consciousness and does his Byakko Senpushu. However, it doesn't affect Villareal. Though Kazuya counted on that and does another move.

Within one second, Kazuya briefly crouches and as that second ends, Villareal is already flying into the ground as Kazuya had propelled himself into the air, with his entire right arm raised into the air and the hand into a knifehand strike.

As both Kazuya and Villareal land into the ground, it's clear who wins the fight. With Villareal too unconscious to stand up further, Kazuya is the winner.

"Kudo wins this fight," says Zhou.

Pavel then approaches Kazuya after the latter returned to the row as to where all the fighters wait. He is wearing nothing but a white tank-top shirt, his green pants, and brown boots.

"What was that move?" asked Pavel.

"Seiryu Suishi," replied Kazuya. "It requires quick thinking to pull off."

* * *

"The following day, me, Pavel, and six other fighters made it to the quarter-finals," says Kazuya in the present.

"My, what are you two talking about?"

The Beta Flight members and Pavel turn their attention to both Cassie and Kyoichi, who have just arrived in Bucky's. Arthur and Ganessa notice Cassie.

Cassie is wearing a yellow sundress and is carrying a gray handbag. Kyoichi is wearing a blazer and a pair of trousers colored gray.

"Wait, you're Cassie Lockheart, the Godspeed of the East," says Ganessa. "You're with New Eden?"

"Yes," replied Cassie. "A long story on that."

"Wait, do I recognize you from somewhere?"

"I do, but it's best not to dwell on it."

 _That's right, Cassie was brainwashed by the Nova during the 10th Nova Clash five years ago and nearly killed Ganessa-senpai,_ Kazuya says to himself in his mind.

"By the way, what are you two doing here?" asked Pavel. "What happened to your double date?"

"Holly wasn't feeling well, so Louis took her back to their apartment," answered Kyoichi.

"I see," replied Pavel. "There goes tomorrow."

"What do you mean?" asked Shinji.

"Janet needed everyone for tomorrow's exercise."

"That's up to her. She'll sort it out."

"What were you guys talking about anyway?" asked Cassie.

"We were talking about how the four of us met back in Hong Kong four years ago," answered Kazuya.

"Wait, you two also were in Hong Kong?" asked Arthur.

"That's right," replied Cassie. "Kyoichi-kun and I joined New Eden and were tasked to infiltrate the tournament. We were in disguise for that mission."

"Do you want to continue the story?" asked Kazuya.

"No need."

"Alright then, I'm continuing," says Kazuya. "When the preliminaries of the tournament had ended, it was only me, Pavel, Cassie, Kyoichi, and four others who made it to the quarter-finals."

* * *

July 3, 2069 (09:14, UTC+08:00)

Central and Western District, Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, People's Republic of China

Crowley's Tower of Pleasure, Secret Underground Arena

* * *

For the first round of the quarter-finals of the secret tournament, the cards for those in the fight are being placed. The left card has the name "Anna LaRue" while the right card has the name "Gai Hoshi".

"Anna LaRue and Gai Hoshi, step forward!"

Both Anna LaRue and Gai Hoshi step forward. Anna is a twenty-one-year-old woman with blond hair tied into one ponytail and brown hair. She is wearing a white crop top underneath a black leather jacket and black leather pants. Gai is a twenty-year-old-man with long black hair wearing the standard white-colored gi with his belt, or obi, colored black with two white stripes found on the left.

"Begin!" shouted Zhou.

As the gong is hit under Zhou's orders, Anna and Gai go into their respective stances. Their stances tell their respective fighting styles.

Anna's is that of Tanglangquan, which consists of slightly bending her legs, her right arm straightened with its lower slightly bent from top to bottom, and her left arm bent sideways. Both hands have been meant to resemble the arms of a praying mantis, with the index finders blatantly hooked and the thumbs attached firmly to the index fingers. Gai's stance has himself slightly open but has his right arm bent upwards.

The fight begins with both Anna and Gai moving around until one of them strikes first. This allows them to figure out how to respectively strike.

Anna strikes first by extending her right arm while keeping the hand as it is. Immediately, she uses her left arm and swings it sideways. Gai evades the strikes.

Attempting another strike, Anna uses her right arm. However, Gai grabs her right arm and right leg. Immediately, he pushes her into the ground.

Anna then gets up. In that instant, she strikes with her right arm again but Gai evades. However, she then uses her left leg and hits Gai by the right leg. She then turns and uses her left arm, hitting Gai again.

Gai attempts to grab Anna again. However, the latter grabs the former. Instantly, Anna then shifts to Gai's rear.

As Gai notices, it is too late. Anna immediately grabs hold of Gai with her arms. She lifts herself up with her legs and in that instant, she forces Gai into the ground with her legs while she lands as well.

"Anna LaRue wins this fight," says Zhou. "The next fight begins this instant."

Both Anna and Gai leave the arena, with the latter taken away by two men as he is unconscious. At the same time, the name cards for the next fight are being placed.

The card on the left has Kazuya's alias, Ryusei Kudo. He immediately proceeds to the arena. The card on the right has Pavel's full name in it, having him proceed next.

"Who knew it'd turn out like this?" asked Pavel.

"Me too," replied Kazuya.

"I'm not showing any mercy."

"Same here but I'll try not to get you killed."

The gong is then pressed. Both Kazuya and Pavel get to their respective stances, with Pavel's consisting of him straightening his right arm and the left arm being pushed back. Both the left and right hands are open, indicating Pavel's stance involves grappling.

Striking first, Pavel charges at Daremo while turning his right hand into a fist. Daremo evades Pavel's attack. Daremo then grabs Pavel and does a Seoi Nage, throwing Pavel into the floor.

Pavel gets up and does a quick kick but is blocked by Kazuya. Pavel attempts the same punch he tried to use earlier but Kazuya evades it again.

Using his right leg, Pavel attempts to kick Kazuya while in the opposite direction. Pavel's kick had managed to hit Kazuya. The former then jumps with the left leg while using the right leg, kicking Kazuya in the left side of his neck.

Pavel's attack had forced himself and Kazuya into the ground. Both immediately get up, with Kazuya punches Pavel with his right fist. He then does a small jump, spins and uses his right leg, hitting Pavel again.

Pavel jumps and pins the left side of Kazuya's neck while using his left leg to pin the left arm. Both men fall to the ground but Pavel uses all four of his limbs to grab Kazuya's left leg and forcibly pins it.

As Pavel gets off, Kazuya stands up but can barely stand due to that previous attack of Pavel's.

 _I could go all out but I don't want to deprive a little girl of her older brother,_ says Kazuya in his mind.

Pavel then charges at Kazuya again while using his right fist. The instant Pavel reaches Kazuya and swings his fist, Kazuya raises his right leg and uses its knee to block Pavel's punch.

In an instant, Kazuya goes below Pavel and spins himself using the body and arms. He uses his legs to hit Pavel, with the attack being done without Pavel noticing until he had just hit the ground.

Kazuya then gets up after his attack. Despite what Pavel did to his left leg, Kazuya keeps himself standing until Zhou announces who won the fight.

"The winner is Ryusei Kudo," says Zhou.

Hearing Zhou's announcement, Kazuya allows himself to lose balance. Pavel raises his head towards Kazuya.

"What… kind of technique… was that?" asked Pavel.

"I just invented it," answered Kazuya. 'Haven't decided a name yet."

"I lost… "

"I'll ask Zhou if he can pay for your sister's medical treatment. I promise you."

"Thanks."

Due to being unable to stand as a result of their fight, both Kazuya and Pavel are taken off the arena by Zhou's men. Two men with one stretcher take Kazuya, while two others take Pavel on another stretcher.

* * *

"That was the same technique you used against me," says Rana in the present.

"It is," said Kazuya. "I added the one I used against you later."

"Have you thought of a name yet for that technique?" asked Pavel.

"I call it Genbu Ganmon."

"You've been reading up about the Four Symbols, haven't you?" asked Shinji.

"Everyone needs a hobby, especially if you've been living underground for four years."

"So, what happened next in that tournament?" asked Arthur.

"Pavel and I were in the infirmary for the rest of the semi-finals. I recovered faster than Pavel, and by that point, I was in the finals already with that masked fighter."

"How was that fight?" asked Ganessa.

"It was the first time I had much more to learn."

* * *

July 4, 2069 (09:10, UTC+08:00)

Central and Western District, Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, People's Republic of China

Crowley's Tower of Pleasure, Secret Underground Arena

* * *

The finals of the tournament is about to begin. For the fighters, some have stayed to see through the end of it, while others opted out upon being disqualified for losing. Zhou then arrives to start the finals.

"Today is the finals for this tournament, says Zhou. "I have seen plenty of talent displayed in this tournament. Unfortunately, only two people remain in this tournament. Whosoever wins will have his or her wish granted. I wish you luck."

The cards for those in the finals are then laid out. On the left is Noir while on the right is Kazuya's alias.

"Noir and Ryusei Kudo, step forward," says Zhou.

Stepping forward, Kazuya and Noir face each other. A man carrying two weapons arrives. One is Kazuya's iaito and the other is a Gewehr 98 with the Seitengewehr 98/05 bayonet.

"As this is the finals, I will allow weapons to be used. However, I will not allow death in this fight. The rifle isn't loaded and is only to host the bayonet attached. Grab your weapons and the fight will begin."

Both Kazuya and Noir choose their weapons. Kazuya grabs his iaito while Noir grabs the Gewehr 98. As he gets into his stance, Kazuya observes Noir's stance, which is creating a wide gap between the legs and wielding the Gewehr 98 like a polearm weapon.

 _Master told me that there are fighting styles that involve arming rifles with smaller blades,_ Kazuya has in his mind.

"Begin!"

After Zhou orders the fight to start, the gong is pressed. Both Kazuya and Noir start the fight by crossing their respective weapons, with Noir crossing her rifle's bayonet with Kazuya's iaito.

Immediately after, both separate their weapons. Noir thrusts the rifle at Kazuya but he crouches and swings the sword upwards to deflect Noir's attack.

Noir then does a three-step attack. First, she swings the rifle downwards. Second, she thrusts again. Lastly, she spins around and strikes upward. Kazuya evades all three of these attacks.

Jumping, Noir implants the rifle into the floor. Immediately after, she hits Kazuya with her legs, knocking him to the ground.

Kazuya gets up. Noir then charges at him but Kazuya sheathes his iaito and turns his back on Noir.

 _What's he doing?_ asked Noir's mind.

Noir gets close but it all changes in an instant. Noir's rifle is sliced in half as Kazuya had swung his iaito upwards with his left and holding the scabbard with the right hand.

 _He's good,_ thought Noir.

Noir then faces Zhou. Both the latter and Kazuya are curious.

"Mr. Zhou, may I request that the remainder of this fight will be unarmed?" asked Noir.

"You may," answered Zhou.

"Fine with me," replied Kazuya as he throws his iaito into the ground and gets to his unarmed stance.

However, Noir doesn't go into a stance. Kazuya notices this.

 _Why isn't he taking a stance?_ Kazuya asked himself in his mind.

Circling the entire arena, Kazuya intends to bait Noir into attacking. However, Noir does nothing.

 _Why aren't you responding? Is he baiting me into a trap? I'll just have to strike quickly._

Kazuya uses his right leg for a kick. However, Noir vanishes then appears behind Kazuya.

 _How did-_

Noir strikes Kazuya at the neck with knifehand strike. However, the attack doesn't even scratch Kazuya.

Kazuya attempts to use his right leg again to kick without turning the body but Noir evades the kick again. The masked fighter returns to the initial position.

"It seems Master Alnul thought you well if you've managed to attack that quickly," says Noir.

 _How does he know of Alnul?_ Kazuya asked himself in his mind. _Better yet, why did he address him as "Master"?_

Kazuya attempts to use his left palm to attack again. Immediately, Noir crouches and uses the right palm. The counterattack sends Kazuya to the edge of the arena.

 _He's got to be using life forces._

"I don't feel like keeping with this," says Noir. "I hope you find the answers you seek in the tournament."

Rather than continue the fight, Noir leaves. This causes a mixed reaction for the crowds. Zhou then stands up.

"It seems the winner of the tournament is Ryusei Kudo," says Zhou. "Come to me and I will hear your wish."

Upon Zhou's announcement, the crowds cheer. Kazuya proceeds to the northernmost end, where there are two staircases on each edge.

Coming before Zhou, Kazuya bows his head down in respect. However, there is a suspicious atmosphere around Kazuya and Zhou. The northernmost end has been sealed off from prying eyes and Zhou is hiding something with his left hand.

"Why is the area covered?" asked Kazuya.

"The wish must be made secret," replied Zhou. "Now then, what might it be?"

"Do you mind if it's more than one wish?"

"Not at all. However, the limit is four wishes."

"Understood. First, please guarantee medical treatment for Ludmilla Sidorov."

"Feeling sorry for Mr. Sidorov? I knew what his wish would be when I entered the tournament. Consider it granted."

"Lastly, please tell me where Apollyon Crowley."

Zhou is surprised Kazuya would be this daring. What doesn't surprise him is the full name of his employer."

"So you do know."

"Perhaps. However, you've played with fire right there, Kazuya Aoi."

 _How did he kn-_

"If I get you killed here now, Mr. Crowley will reward me handsomely."

Zhou reveals a red button underneath his left hand. Pressing it, Kazuya falls into a trap door.

A minute later, Kazuya finds himself below the arena. The area only has one bulb that is functioning, and the room is filled with all kinds of meat.

A loud roar is heard. It is that of a dangerous creature, with Kazuya noticing.

 _You think you could kill me with this?_

Coming before Kazuya is a tiger. The latter gets to his stance.

* * *

"Wait a minute, you fought a tiger?" asked Arthur in the present. "Are you sure you didn't make this up?"

"I am really telling the truth," replied Kazuya.

"I've seen Kaz- I mean, Ryusei-san fight Nova bare-handed before," replied Rana. "I even helped."

"You have?" asked Ganessa.

"Long story on that."

"Thank you, Rana," replied Kazuya. "Yes, I fought a tiger and won. Please let me continue the story."

* * *

Back beneath the secret arena underneath Crowley's Tower of Pleasure, the tiger jumps to make his attack on Kazuya. Kazuya isn't fazed that such an animal is his opponent and prepares for his attack.

Firmly stepping on the ground, Kazuya grips his right fist. The tiger will reach Kazuya in a second.

Back above, Zhou stops hiding. However, the crowds notice Kazuya lack of presence.

However, Zhou picked a wrong time to stop hiding. At that instant, the tiger is flown into the air from below and lands into the ground. Kazuya jumps forward back to the surface.

"Wh… What the hell are you!?" asked Zhou upon realizing his plan to feed Kazuya to a tiger has failed.

The crowds react with Zhou. To them, they only know of Kazuya as a skilled fighter. However, a man being able to defeat a tiger with just one punch is something else.

Suddenly, two guards are knocked unconscious by two others. They remove their disguises and reveal themselves to be a Caucasian man and woman while bringing out MP5 submachine guns. In the midst of this, Zhou escapes.

 _Louis, Holly, what are they doing here?_ Kazuya asked in his mind.

Likewise, Anna and Gai also reveal that they too were in disguise. Their respective identities are that of Cassie Lockheart and Kyoichi Minase.

"What are you two doing here!?" asked Kazuya.

"Long story," replied Cassie. "Don't you want to get Zhou?"

"Right," says Kazuya as he leaves by using Illusion Turn.

"He even learned how to do an Illusion Turn!" said Cassie with disbelief.

A second later, Kazuya arrived at the seventy-first floor of Crowley's Tower of Pleasure. He sees Zhou attempting to escape with eight guards. Both parties notice each other, with Zhou quickly fleeing to the stairs with four guards while the other four stay to make sure Zhou escapes.

After getting to his stance, Kazuya strikes one guard down with hitting him first with his right hand as its fingers are firmly together and raised up, then a hook punch, then an elbow strike with the right arm, and ending with an uppercut with the left fist.

Kazuya attacks another guard with his legs. He hits the left ankle of the guard's left leg with his right foot, diagonally raises his left leg to hit the guard's right rib cage, hits the guard's neck with the sole of his right leg, and then does a spinning kick with his left leg while doing a small jump, knocking down guard.

Another guard attempts to hit Kazuya but the latter evades the attack with the Illusion Turn and appears behind him. Immediately, Kazuya does a Seoi Nage.

Knocking out the last guard with a Seiryu Suishi, Kazuya continues on to the staircase. As he makes it to the seventy-second floor, which is now a helipad, he sees Zhou and his four guards waiting for him.

"If you think Crowley will rescue you, you're mistaken," says Kazuya. "In fact, I should thank you. If he's coming here, I'm going to get him after I get you."

"Yeah right," says Zhou. "Get him!"

The four guards proceed to attack Kazuya. The guard to attack Kazuya first is parried with a Genbu Ganmon, then knocked out with the drilling kick Kazuya used to take down Pavel. Another guard is hit by Kazuya's Byakko Senpushu but is disoriented. Kazuya then knocks him out with his right hand.

Zhou then grabs a Makarov semi-automatic pistol and attempts to shoot Kazuya but the latter notices and evades the shot. One guard follows him but Kazuya uses the same four-kick combination attack on him, followed by a Seoi Nage.

The last guard attempts to punch Kazuya but the latter uses Seiryu Suishi. The guard is still conscious but Zhou attempts to use his pistol again, with Kazuya noticing and using the guard as a human shield, getting him shot.

"Impressive," says Zhou as he throws away his pistol. "Now I'll fight you fair and squ-"

A helicopter arrives behind Zhou. It has Chevalier's insignia and it's door opens. As Zhou turns around to see, the sound of a submachine gun being fired is heard.

In that instant, Zhou falls to the floor dying. The one with the submachine gun is none other than the Chiffon clone Kazuya met in West Genetics four years ago. She is, however, wearing the mask and the submachine gun she is using a P90.

"The Master wishes to extend his apologies for this incident," says the Chiffon clone. "He awaits your challenge."

The Chiffon clone then closes the door. Immediately, the helicopter leaves.

Suddenly, Siobhan McAllister appears on the roof, with Cassie Kyoichi, Louis, and Holly guarding her.

"Who are you?" asked Kazuya.

"Siobhan McAllister, Captain of New Eden. It seems you have a grudgewith Chevalier, Kazuya Aoi."

* * *

"And that's how I was recruited into New Eden," replied Kazuya in the present.

"I joined New Eden too because they offered not only medical attention to Ludmila but also allowed me to get her into school," replied Pavel.

"I see," replied Shinji.

"Ryusei-kun, I didn't realize you were back," says a man with long blond hair and a short blond beard. He is wearing the same uniform as Banul.

"General Kolkash," says Kazuya as he stands up and salutes him by folding his right arm and tilting the lower arm and clenching the fist.

"Who's this?" asked Ganessa.

"General Holmat Kolkash," replied Pavel. "He's a legend from the First Empire and helped save Ryusei five years ago."

"What!? You're from the First Empire?" asked Arthur.

"I am," replied Holmat. "In fact, a fourth of New Eden's population are First Empire soldiers."

"How exactly are you still alive?" asked Arthur.

"We managed to go into cryo-sleep when the Empire fell. We did so hoping we will continue the fight and thanks to New Eden, here we are."

"I see."

"Other than Pavel-kun, I'd take it you're Ryusei-kun's subordinates."

"Yes, sir."

"At ease. In any case, you lot better get rest. You do have training tomorrow, don't you?"

"We do, sir," replied Kazuya.

Immediately after, everyone begins to leave the drinking establishment and go their separate ways for the night.

* * *

June 24, 2070 (07:30, UTC+09:00)

Philippine Sea

New Eden, Carrier attachment Hiryu

* * *

The following day, both Alpha and Beta Flights of the New Eden Air Security Forces are gathered on the flight deck of the Hiryu. Before the Beta Flight members are the Alpha Flight members, with Janet Baxter ahead of the other Alpha Flight members.

"Now that you've familiarized with the controls, I hope you could apply what you've learned today because this will be a test if you're ready to fly into combat," says Janet. "First, I'll test how you fly then I'll test how you fight in the air. Who wants to go first?"

"I do," answers Rana as she raises her hand.

"Very well then, Second Airman Linchen, get to the trainer behind me."

"Yes, ma'am."

Rana proceeds to a Gungel made for training. What makes it reserved for training is that it has two seats in the cockpit. The front seat is for the student while the backseat is for the teacher. The latter will observe how the former flies.

As they get inside the Gungel trainer, Rana begins starting it up while remembering from the simulator with Janet observing from the backseat. The former launches the Gungel flawlessly.

The Gungel leaves the Hiryu by way of EMALS (Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System). EMALS works by way of connecting the frontmost landing gear of a jet to the linear induction motor. As the jet is launched, the landing gear is detached from the linear induction motor as it is in the air.

"I'll be testing how you do your maneuvers while remembering the controls," says Janet. "First, go around the ship."

"Roger that," replied Rana.

Manipulating the vertical stabilizers, Rana first turns left and does so again. She repeats this until returns to the original position.

Rana does these maneuvers in a flawless manner. Everyone else stands in amazement that someone who wouldn't have been familiar with the Gungel's controls does it flawlessly.

"Good work, Linchen," says Janet. "Now then, prepare to switch to Gear Diver mode. There's a panel to your right. It has the letters F, D, and S."

Rana finds the panel that has three letters Janet mentioned. She switches the panel to the letter D, and as she does, arms and legs appear on the Gungel.

"Now then, attempt to land the Gungel," says Janet. "As you do, then switch to Gear Soldier mode."

"Got it," replied Rana.

The Gungel slowly makes its descent back to the Hiryu. As the Gungel is two meters away from the flight deck, Rana begins to switch to Gear Soldier mode.

The cockpit position of the Gungel is now at a vertical position, with Janet above Rana. The entire Gungel begins resembling more of a human being as its arms and legs are positioned like that of a human being.

As the entire cockpit becomes vertical, Rana and Janet's seats are also vertical. Their respective consoles as well.

Rana tries her hardest to land the Gungel. However, as she lands the Gungel on the flight deck, she lands it clumsily. She restores stability to the Variable Gear a second later.

This is the result of switching to Gear Soldier mode. The pilot would be less concentrated when he or she has been swung to a new position upon switching to Gear Soldier mode.

"You were getting it right earlier but you botched your landing," says Janet. "A perfect landing is very useful in combat. Mess it up and I assure you'll be dead in a second. You need to overcome that aftereffect of switching."  
"Sorry," says Rana.

"In any case, it was just your first day," says Janet. "If you wish to practice, approach Lieutenant Aoi."

"Got it."

Despite Rana having no problem responding to Janet, she is surprised Janet said that she should seek out help in perfecting her piloting to Kazuya.

"Now get off. I need to revert it back to normal."

The cockpit opens. A wire with a handle and a foot pedal appears. Rana gets on the wire and lands on the flight deck.

* * *

June 24, 2070 (08:30, UTC+09:00)

Philippine Sea

New Eden

* * *

An hour later, everyone is gathered before Janet. After Rana, everyone had done their demonstration on piloting the Gungel.

"All of you had managed to do well on your first day," says Janet. "It took me two hours to get the hang of piloting the Gungel. By the time I perfected my flying, it was two years later. Practice some more, and you'll perfect it far shorter than I did. Get some rest. Normal classes resume in thirty minutes."

Everyone leaves as Janet asked. The Beta Flight members talk amongst themselves.

"You all did well," says Kazuya. "As Janet said, please me find any time if you need to practice."

"Don't get all cocky just because you're our commanding officer," says Ganessa. "Don't forget I was senior back in West Genetics."

"Easy, Ganessa-senpai," says Arthur. "Sure, Kazuya."

"By the way, where's Bruce?" asked Shinji.

"As he volunteered for the Engineer positions in the Air Security Forces, he has a different schedule," replied Kazuya. "We'll still see him at night."

* * *

June 24, 2070 (15:06, UTC+09:00)

Philippine Sea

New Eden

* * *

After flight practice, there's a thirty-minute interval for resting. After that, the next class is an hour of firearms practice. After that is another hour dedicated to practice Tactical Suit riding. Following that is an hour of lunch. After that, there's an hour of rest before resuming with combat survival lessons under Brown for two hours. After another interval of thirty minutes of rest, there's the last lesson for the day, which is close quarters combat lessons with Janet.

In the midst of this, Kazuya, who is watching his subordinates train, is approached by a guard. After the salute each other, Kazuya is given a note and the guard runs off.

Immediately, Kazuya reads the note. Rana notices and approaches.

"Lieutenant, what is it?" asked Rana.

"I've been given classified information," replied Kazuya. "I have to report back to the Captain."

"Really?"

"Yes. Please stay here. That's an order."

"Yes, sir."

Kazuya then rushes out of the gym. Rana then resumes training.

* * *

An hour later, Kazuya makes it to the bridge. He then salutes Siobhan.

"Aoi, what are you doing here?" asked Siobhan.

"Captain, I've just received this report," replied Kazuya. "It's about that extra shipment of Variable Gears, along with new ones."

"Please tell me."

"The shipment is on its way."

"Good, we'll accept the shipment. However, this must be kept between us and Janet only, is that understood?"

"Yes, ma'am."

* * *

July 2, 2070 (07:06, UTC+09:00)

Philippine Sea

New Eden

* * *

Another day of flight training for the Beta Flight members sans Bruce. Kazuya is with Janet.

"All of you have improved since last week," says Janet. "Now that you've gotten the hang of piloting a Gungel, I have an important announcement."

Everyone talks amongst themselves about this announcement Janet will give. Kazuya stays silent as he knows what Janet will announce.

"Quiet!" shouted Janet, followed by the silence of Kazuya's subordinates. "Pay attention. You have done well so far. Again, your training should not have been as short as it is but there was no choice given the circumstances. In any case, things will change around here."

Janet prepares to continue with her speech. Kazuya prepares to deal with the reactions of his subordinates.

"Allow me to announce that a new shipment of Variable Gears has arrived last week," continued Janet. "We had to keep this a secret because of the fear of intelligence leaks."

Arthur raises his right hand. Janet realizes he has something to ask.

"Permission to ask granted," replied Janet upon seeing Arthur.

"Major Baxter, how many Variable Gears did we receive?" asked Arthur.

"Two more Gungels and a new type of Variable Gear," answered Janet.

The Beta Flight members talk amongst themselves again. Because of the words "new type of Variable Gear", they're louder than they were two minutes ago.

"Quiet down!"

The Beta Flight members stop talking amongst themselves. Kazuya is dismayed by how discipline deteriorates.

"In any case, I introduce you the Bombel."

A new type of Variable Gear appears as it is brought up to the flight deck. It is based on the Tu-22M strategic bomber, which was given the NATO reporting name "Backfire".

"That's the Bombel?" asked Ganessa.

"It is," replied Janet. "This new type of Variable Gear is for bombing runs that are for major concentrations of Nova, which will be of great benefit in aiding ground forces. Unlike the Gungel, the Bombel can carry up to thirty-two missiles. Lieutenant Aoi, please pilot the Bombel to give your subordinates a demonstration."

"Yes, Major," replied Kazuya.

Kazuya then boards the Bombel. Janet begins to contact him, apparently having boarded her Gungel.

"You've spent that week reading the manual," says Janet. "Make sure it wasn't wasted."

"Roger that," replied Kazuya.

Kazuya then launches the Bombel into the air. Janet follows with her Gungel.

"Lieutenant, now that we're in the air, shall we show your subordinates how to properly use the Bombel?" asked Janet.

"Yes, ma'am," replied Kazuya.

Kazuya then gets behind Janet. Both the Gungel and Bombel fly in an orderly fashion, with the rest of Beta Flight watching curiously and carefully.

Finding a blue-colored button on the panel of the Bombel, Kazuya presses it. As he does, the Bombel begins to alter itself.

The Bombel gets close enough to the Gungel. Both Variable Gears are connected. In the midst of this, the cockpit of the former is altered as Kazuya is automatically now facing the rear and a turret-mounted weapon appears, with the rear end of the cockpit glass opening for the weapon.

The Beta Flight members stand agape with what is happening. The two Variable Gears are now one.

"Excellent job, Lieutenant," says Janet. "Now, disconnect."

"Roger that," replied Kazuya.

Kazuya presses the blue button that enabled the Bombel to connect with the Gungel. In that instant, everything goes back to normal, even the Bombel's cockpit.

Afterward, both Variable Gears return to the Hiryu's flight deck. Janet and Kazuya get off their respective Variable Gears and face the other Beta Flight members.

"Now you know how the Bombel works," says Janet. "Anyone up for a test?"

* * *

July 2, 2070 (10:38, UTC+09:00)

Philippine Sea

New Eden

* * *

Hours later, the Beta Flight members are gathered at the Tactical Suit training grounds of the military complex. Before them is Kazuya and Brown himself. Everyone, including Brown, all wear Riding Suits.

"I'm sure by now you maggots have tested that new Variable Gear," says Brown. "Other than that, we in the Ground Security Forces have a new type of Tactical Suit. Bring it forward, Mably."

Thomas Mably himself appears. He is riding a blue-colored Tactical Suit that is 2,120 millimeters in length.

"I introduce to you the Gunwave," says Brown. "Its primary weapons are missiles that when you're on Suit Mode, they're fired from the shoulders. The missiles can only be launched by voice activation. Other than that, the Gunwave is also armed with flamethrowers, which will be useful against Nova. Any volunteers to give this baby a spin?"

Shinji raises his hand.

"Midorkawa then."

Shinji gets on the Gunwave. After turning it on, he begins moving.

Seeing a hump, Shinji jumps over it. This is part of the training for Tactical Suit pilots. Immediately after, a target appears.

Shinji goes for Suit Mode. On his arms are the flamethrowers Brown mentioned. However, as he sees the targets, he intends to use the missiles.

"Fire," ordered Shinji.

One missile is fired from the left shoulder. The Gunwave has a total of eight missiles, with four on each shoulder. As Shinji only spotted one target, only one missile is fired.

The target is destroyed. Shinji reverts to Ride Mode and continues the course. Seeing three more targets, Shinji switches to Suit Mode and fires three missiles.

* * *

July 29, 2070 (07:10, UTC+09:00)

Philippine Sea

New Eden

* * *

All of the Beta Flight members are gathered before Janet and Kazuya. The Alpha flight members are also in attendance.

"All of you have done well," says Janet. "I'm proud to have been your instructor. Now, this is the real test. Each of you will do a mock dog fight. The only way to pass is to beat your opponent. Who wishes to go first?"

"I do, I do," excitedly answered Rana.

"Alright then. Linchen, you're up against Rose."

Coming forward is Holly Rose. Formerly from Genetics UK, Holly is a twenty-two-year-old Caucasian woman with long white hair and red eyes. Her official partner back in Genetics UK is Howard el Bridget's only son and youngest child Louis.

Both Holly and Rana board their respective Gungels. The former begins to launch first.

"Rana Linchen, Beta 5, launching."

Rana then gets her Gungel in the air as soon as her Gungel's landing gear is detached from the EMALS. Holly follows suit.

"Holly Rose, Alpha 2, launching."

Holly herself launches off the Hiryu. She then catches up to Rana.

"Linchen, listen up," says Holly as she contacts Rana. "As Major Baxter explained, you're to engage with me. Manage to take one shot and you pass. However, I will not go easy on you."

"Roger that," replied Rana.

"Going ahead first. Do not shoot me until I say so."

"Roger."

Holly goes ahead of Rana. The former has her Gungel go to Gear Soldier mode and begins to take aim with its rifle.

"Now!" shouted Holly.

It is clear Holly has now given the permission to shoot. However, she starts first. Rana evades the shot.

"Alright then, bring it on!" shouted Rana.

Rana switches to Gear Diver mode and fires her Gungel's nose machine guns. Holly switches her Gungel also to Gear Diver mode and evades the shots. Both switch their respective Gungels to Gear Fighter mode and begin a traditional aerial battle.

Each fire their respective Gungel's nose machine guns but the other evades. This is the whole point of this final exercise. The trainee must know how to survive such a fight as this is what will happen in battle.

Holly has her Gungel switch to Gear Diver mode again and fires the Gungel's rifle but Rana evades the shots again. Rana, in turn, goes for Gear Diver mode as well and use her Gungel's rifle but Holly switches her Gungel back to Gear Fighter mode to evade Rana's shots.

Rana responds in kind and the two resume chasing each other. As Rana gets close enough to Holly's Gungel, she attempts to fire her Gungel's nose machine guns but Holly evades again.

"Keep that up and you'll waste ammo," Holly says as she contacts Rana.

After another round of turns, Holly goes back to Gear Soldier mode for her Gungel and fires the Gungel's rifle. Her shots had finally managed to hit something.

"Carel- What!?" Holly exclaimed.

What Holly is seeing is that the blue dot representing Rana on the map of her Gungel's monitor is still moving. The question in Holly's head is what is it that she hit.

What is actually happening is that Rana is charging at Holly. Holly takes aim again but little did she know what Rana has in store.

"That was a waste."

In that instant, Holly fires again but she is too late as Rana goes for Gear Soldier mode in her Gungel and fires the nose machine guns.

Holly's Gungel is now hit with paintball rounds. Rana had managed to switch before getting shot.

"H… How did you that, Linchen?" asked Holly. "… Kazuya Aoi taught you that trick, didn't he?"

"He sure did," cheerfully replied Rana.

"He used that trick to defeat when he finished his flight training. Either way, excellent work."

* * *

July 30, 2070 (15:10, UTC+09:00)

Philippine Sea

New Eden, Military Complex

* * *

All of the New Eden Air Security Forces members, including Bruce, are gathered at the military complex. Siobhan, Kazuya, and Janet are on the same stage they were standing on when welcoming the new recruits.

"All of you have done well in your training," says Janet. "I'm proud to have been your teacher in these past two months. You have much more to turn but it will not be in here. It will be battle. Now, each of you are now fully fledged Air Security Forces members. Come forward as I call on your names."

The Beta Flight members wait in anticipation. All of their training was for this moment.

"Arthur Crypton."

Arthur comes forward to the stage. Kazuya is already positioned where Arthur is to be positioned.

"Ganessa Roland."

Ganessa herself steps forward. She positions herself beside Arthur.

"Shinji Midorikawa."

Shinji then comes forward. He positions himself beside Ganessa.

"Rana Linchen."

Rana then comes forward. She positions herself beside Shinji.

"Bruce Sykes."

Bruce then comes forward. He positions himself beside Rana. Janet faces all of the Beta Flight members with Siobhan positioning herself beside Janet.

"I hope for good things out of you," says Siobhan.

"Yes ma'am!" loudly reply all six of Beta Flight's members.

* * *

Translations

Byakko Senpushu (Japanese) – kanji for "White Tiger", "hurricane", and "kick"

Jujutsu (Japanese) – kanji for "soft" and "art"

Aikido (Japanese) – kanji for "joining", "spirit", and "way".

Seiryu Suishi (Japanese) – kanji for "Azure Dragon", "water", and "beak"

Genbu Ganmon (Japanese) – kanji for "Black Beast", "earth", and "gate"

Hiryu (Japanese) – kanji for "flying" and "dragon"

Bratva (Russian) – "brotherhood (братва)"

Noir (French) – "black"

Tanglangquan (Chinese) – "praying mantis fist"

Gewehr (German) – "rifle"

* * *

A/N:

The flashback set in Hong Kong is a reference to Blood Sport, which was a martial arts movie also set in Hong Kong. How Hong Kong is depicted and Crowley's Tower of Pleasure is based on 1985-A from Back to the Future Part II.

As to why I made Cassie a Tanglangquan fighter, I based that on Lion Rafale from the Virtua Fighter series. Felt it made sense as both Cassie and Lion are from rich families, yet have arguments with their fathers.

Kazuya defeating the tiger Zhou used to kill him is based on Ryu ga Gotoku 2/Yakuza 2, where the protagonist Kazuma Kiryu took on two tigers. The only difference is that, unlike Kiryu, Kazuya wasn't wounded.

The Gunwave is based on the VR-041H Blowsperior from Genesis Climber MOSPEADA. Likewise with the Bombel being based on the AB-01 TLEAD (Transport Legioss Escort Armored Dreadnought) from the same show. The real-life inspiration for the Gunwave is the Honda VFR800 motorcycle.


End file.
